An American film shot in Poland: feels like a travesty, until it’s not. A Real Pain commences at New York City airport where two cousins, David (Jesse Eisenberg, also the director and the author of the script) and Benji (Kieran Culkin, recently known for HBO’s Succession). They differ, like a lot: David leads a down-to-earth life with his wife and daughter, while Benji is just something else; a sort of traveller with no specific plans and aspirations. And, they haven’t seen each other in ages, although our protagonists practically live in the same city. Yet, they’re not here because they really want to take a turn for the better. Their Polish grandma has just died, so together they decide to go to Poland on a little pilgrimage to learn about her country and, most importantly, see her old house in a tiny city, called Krasnystaw.

Later on, we arrive in Warsaw and Lublin, and it turns out Poland isn’t only a pretext for the film’s plot; these cities aren’t only postcard images, like the ones taken straight out of a nearby gift shop. Instead, in both cases, we learn that the most iconic buildings, historical locations and even the Polish railways (PKP Intercity) play the first fiddle and become the film’s important heroes. As it turns out, they allow our heroes not only to commute and enjoy their voyage, but also to understand their feelings more thoughtfully.

While A Real Pain feels like Eisenberg’s whim to shoot a lazy and simple comedy about two cousins, who aspire to reclaim their brotherly love, it is more than that. It’s a complex film about one of the biggest enemies of modern masculinity: grief. Each of them is still trying to cope with their grandmother’s death and, as far as we know, people suffer in many distinct ways. Yes, boys don’t like to cry, but moreover, it’s just not for them. David and Benji weren’t made for it, but they will have to learn to show their emotions and accept their past(s). Besides, it also delivers a charming take on Jewish generational trauma, which, almost too sentimentally, hits all the right notes and, by this, steals our souls, just like that. Eisenberg presents a simple, but heartwarming story about two fellows, who still feel like boys and will have to become men to survive their everyday lives.

It’s a memorable flick, buoyed by its cosy cinematography (each scene depicts Poland in its best light), with wit and the script, its two most entertaining qualities. Even though we’ve seen similar narratives, deeply rooted in the aesthetics of good-humoured road movies (their on-screen chemistry somewhat reminded me of Due Date from 2010 with Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis), it’s still guileless fun for the audience. In that regard, Eisenberg’s directorial debut feels almost impressive; you need to be a genius to aptly fuse such undue doses of comedy and drama. Well, maybe our future Polish citizen actually is one. 

Jan Tracz

4/5 stars