A sharp, bittersweet road movie that uses family friction and Holocaust memory to explore grief, guilt, and the awkwardness of loving someone who exhausts you. It’s funny, humane, and emotionally precise, with standout performances and a compact runtime that keeps the film moving.
A Real Pain
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Comedy · Drama
Fri · 1h 30m
Director: Jesse Eisenberg
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe
Overview
Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
Director
Jesse Eisenberg
Cast
Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, bittersweet road movie that uses family friction and Holocaust memory to explore grief, guilt, and the awkwardness of loving someone who exhausts you. It’s funny, humane, and emotionally precise, with standout performances and a compact runtime that keeps the film moving.
Best for
viewers who like character-driven dramedies
fans of odd-couple road trips
people interested in Jewish family history and memory
audiences who appreciate messy, charismatic performances
viewers seeking a short, emotionally layered film
Skip if
you want a plot-heavy or high-concept movie
you dislike abrasive, talkative characters
you prefer broad comedy over melancholy humor
you’re looking for an uplifting travelogue rather than emotional confrontation
Overview
A Real Pain is built on a deceptively simple setup: two cousins, one polished and anxious, the other impulsive and magnetic, travel through Poland and keep colliding with each other’s pain. Jesse Eisenberg turns that premise into something wry and observant, finding comedy in embarrassment, self-consciousness, and the way family members can know exactly which buttons to press.
Worth noting
Kieran Culkin is the film’s volatile center, but the movie works because it understands that charisma can be both a gift and a burden. Beneath the jokes and bickering is a serious meditation on inheritance, survivor guilt, and the strange distance between historical trauma and present-day privilege. It never feels didactic; it feels lived-in.
Bottom line
The result is a small film with a lot of emotional aftertaste. Its pleasures come from performance, rhythm, and the uneasy recognition that people often use humor to avoid saying the thing that hurts most. For viewers who like their comedies to leave a bruise, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
mel!na (4★) · 43778 likes
can't get over how jesse eisenberg wrote a scene about how beautiful his feet are
margaux (4★) · 33602 likes
"hey why are you walking alone, are you a big fuckin' loser?" edit 6/4/25: i met kieran and told him i have the second highest letterboxd review for a real pain and he said he doesn't know what letterboxd is 😭🙏
Matt Singer (4★) · 28810 likes
This one runs almost exactly 90 minutes. That makes it a beautiful little short story, primarily about the agony of being a David when you so desperately want to be a Benji and have only just discovered that being a Benji is agony too.
Justin LaLiberty (4★) · 28473 likes
“my pain is unexceptional, so I don’t feel the need to burden everyone with it” is the realist shit I’ve heard all year — everyone in this is fantastic
Katie Walsh · 19159 likes
"you light up a room and then you shit on everything inside of it."
Themes
family tension, grief, Holocaust memory, survivor guilt, identity, inheritance, male friendship, tourism and place
Topics
dramedy, road trip, family conflict, Jewish identity, Holocaust remembrance, generational trauma, bittersweet, character study, ensemble, indie