Movie Review: A mercurial Kieran Culkin shines in Jesse Eisenberg’s deft, accomplished ‘A Real Pain’

It’s portion comedy, portion tragedy. It’s portion road-trip saga, portion overseas couple-buddy flick, and portion Holocaust film. What could perchance person gone wrong?

Yup – everything could person gone wrong. So nan first occurrence astir “A Real Pain,” writer-director Jesse Eisenberg’s remarkably accomplished movie astir mismatched cousins connected a somber travel done Poland, is really it pulls disconnected nan astir delicate of balancing acts.

That it does truthful while besides asking intriguing questions astir nan quality of symptom – individual vs. universal, historical vs. modern – is each nan much impressive. So is nan truth that it showcases an Oscar-worthy performance.

That stunning capacity comes from Kieran Culkin, and what’s striking is that it doesn’t overpower nan remainder of nan ensemble. That’s a testament mostly to nan observant measurement Eisenberg, who co-stars successful nan little flashy role, has constructed and paced his film. And arsenic for Culkin, well, if you needed impervious that his searing, Emmy-winning activity arsenic tortured live-wire Roman Roy successful “Succession” wasn’t a fluke, present you person it.

The movie, which is only Eisenberg’s 2nd directorial effort, stems from a travel nan “Social Network” prima took immoderate 20 years agone to Poland. There, he recovered nan mini location his aunt had lived successful earlier nan Holocaust uprooted nan family. He wondered what his ain life would person been for illustration had World War II ne'er happened.

And that’s 1 of nan galore conversations that David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin) person arsenic they recreation done Poland connected a ngo to sojourn nan location wherever their grandmother, who has precocious died, erstwhile lived. (Eisenberg utilized nan nonstop aforesaid house, which tells you conscionable really individual this movie was for him.)

It’s a poignant but besides awkward reunion for nan cousins, who were adjacent arsenic youngsters but are connected very different paths arsenic 40-something adults. David is nan anxiety-ridden but highly functional type that Eisenberg nan character excels at; he useful successful tech and lives pinch his woman and young boy successful Brooklyn. As for Benji, he lives upstate and is mostly unmoored, aliases undeveloped. He’s besides a study successful contrasts — nan type, David notes, who tin ray up a room erstwhile he enters, and past crap connected everyone. The decease of their grandmother, pinch whom Benji was close, has taken a toll connected his intelligence health.

The cousins first meet up astatine nan airdrome successful New York. Before they moreover get done security, Benji has terrified David by informing him he’s secured immoderate really bully weed for nan journey. (Don’t worry, he’s mailed it to nan hotel.)

In Warsaw, they meet their mini circuit group and British guideline James (Will Sharpe, of “The White Lotus”), a clever clever of wartime Poland. Fellow travelers see Marsha (Jennifer Grey), a divorcee who’s moved from LA backmost eastbound and is trying to reconnect pinch her past; a Midwestern mates (Daniel Oreskes and Liza Sadovy); and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a Rwandan-Canadian person to Judasim who knows thing astir genocide.

In short order, Benji some charms and exasperates nan group — and this turbulent marque of charisma is Culkin’s specialty.

At a warfare memorial statue, he runs up to onslaught a playful action pose, embarrassing David. But somehow, nan full group ends up joining Benji successful nan childlike stunt, and David is near taking photos.

Then erstwhile nan circuit boards a train for Lublin, Benji abruptly explodes successful anger astatine nan group — really tin they beryllium sitting successful first-class comfortableness erstwhile 80 years ago, their ancestors were corralled into cattle cars? He disappears to a lower-class car.

And astatine a sojourn to a wartime tombstone, Benji admonishes nan mild-mannered guide, furiously, for focusing connected statistic and not letting nan group consciousness nan axenic emotion of nan moment. (He’s not wrong, arsenic nan guideline will later acknowledge.)

Eisenberg has said that erstwhile conceiving of his film, he was struck by a Polish advertisement that promised “Holocaust tours (with lunch.)” All these moments consciousness rather real; specified tours are so filled pinch awkward (and alternatively inevitable) juxtapositions of modern tourer comforts and humanities horrors.

Speaking of horrors, by acold nan astir difficult scenes travel erstwhile nan group visits Majdanek, nan Nazi camp. There, they locomotion past unspeakable sights of state chambers and ovens and piles of abandoned shoes. One mightiness astatine first gasp that Eisenberg is starring america present astatine all; wisely, he keeps these moments silent. When Benji breaks down, it’s connected nan measurement location — an acknowledgment that specified reactions often travel later.

At nan end, pinch nan cousins hugging goodbye uneasily successful nan aforesaid airdrome wherever we began, having completed a travel some beingness and personal, it's difficult not to deliberation backmost to nan title of nan movie. Yes, Benji is “a existent pain.” But location are layers of symptom astatine play here.

There is David’s very existent pain, an worry that forces him to return pills each day. There’s Benji’s pain, which not agelong agone has sent him into a very vulnerable tailspin.

But, Eisenberg seems to beryllium asking, really “valid” are these types of symptom group against nan historical symptom that nan movie explores successful Poland — a spot where, arsenic his camera shows quiet streets wherever life erstwhile teemed, an full group was erased by nan Nazis?

It’s rather a travel for 1 film. All in installments to Eisenberg, and his superb co-star, for making nan roadworthy travel truthful thought-provoking.

“A Real Pain,” a Searchlight Pictures release, has been rated R by nan Motion Picture Association “for connection passim and immoderate supplier use. “ Running time: 90 minutes. Three stars retired of four.