What is ‘A Real Pain’ About?
David and Benji have vastly different ideas of whats appropriate.
Is one expression more acceptable?
Image via Sundance
Is one more real?
Thats a pretty accurate summary of the film, too.
Is it disrespectful to look at it from a more factual lens rather than a purely emotional one?
Image via Searchlight Pictures
It certainly made me interrogate my own opinions on these things, sparking new and necessary conversations.
Hes the kind of guy who can make friends with everyone (even notoriously grumpy TSA agents!
), floating through life doing whatever he pleases.
Somehow, Culkin makes the tightrope act look easy.
Eisenbergs performance is quieter and more restrained but equally necessary for the films success.
Davids a quieter character, as Benji naturally dominates the conversation.
“This is what it looks like when you resolve all your issues.”
The supporting cast is just as strong and fleshed out.
But perhaps thats just me being selfish and wanting to spend more time with David and Benji.
The film manages to be a meditation on grief with more laugh-out-loud moments than most straightforward comedies.
It also makes the audience think more deeply about the Holocaust than some documentaries out there about the topic.
If their next projects are even half as solid as this one, we’re in for a treat.
A Real Painis now available to watch on VOD services.
