Tuesday Night | January 7, 2025

Tonight’s film is “A Real Pain”. You can watch it on Hulu or rent it elsewhere.

See what we thought below.

Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” is a story of two cousins inspired by their grandmother’s recent passing to take a guided tour of WWII Poland.

Kieran Culkin turns in a memorable performance as Benjy, equal parts hilarious and haunting. In fact, the film could have stood entirely on the kinetic energy of Culkin alone. Many directors would have, understandably tempted by Culkin’s performance, produced a louder film.

But, Eisenberg isn’t afraid to let his film revel in its quieter moments. The carefully blocked shots of what’s left of WWII Poland. The eery absence of the score during the brief but powerful tour of a concentration camp. The silence after an emotional outburst from either of the lead characters.

Because of choices like this, Eisenberg’s film is more than the sum of its parts. Beyond the obvious potency of its subject matter, the film portrays two people that are so helplessly themselves that you can’t help but sympathize with them both.