Jacob H’s review published on Letterboxd:
Just an incredibly steady two-hander from Jesse Eisenberg in their sophomore directorial outing. I felt there a was real sense on control being exuded on A Real Pain starting from the pacing, the scope or the performances which mainly rely on Kieran Culkin and Eisenberg himself. His debut came in 2022 with When You Finish Saving the World and upon its release is when his next project was announced, a family dramoedy starring Culkin with Emma Stone being highlighted as a producer. As a side note she’s been attached to some really interesting projects on the producer front. At one point when Culkin was wanting to drop out of the project it was former partner and producer Emma Stone who had to convince him to stay. Apparently Eisenberg had never seen Culkin perform in anything but envisioned him for the role of Benji after sharing an audition with him years prior so things around casting and production seemed more peculiar than normal. This is on top of the rumors that the pair didn’t have the most pleasant filming experience (often the case) didn’t seem upend the chemistry between the two. In just 90 minutes they are able to render distinct personalities that play directly into their respective wheelhouses. If you aren’t able to see yourself in either character, you still most certainly know someone with these exact tendencies. It’s something that never overstays its welcome, feels incredibly authentic despite Culkin rebooting Roman Roy to a certain extent and I think the general consensus is that this is a large improvement from his debut. I thought this was easy to engage with large in part thanks to the runtime and the believable uncomfortable nature of everything.
Most of the film has to do with the two varying personalities that are rubbing up against each other. Eisenberg is playing the structured streak of normalcy who overworks in the name of his family. He’s on medication to keep things like anxiety and obsessive compulsive tendencies at bay. Culkin plays the charmer who hasn’t really figured it out, able to win a room while being a complete handful across any extended period of time. Seeing the two family members acknowledge their separation over the years and try to work through some of those stark personality and life differences, only to have to move on once more was just really well done I thought. I thought the people and location was established right away, and this even tempered pacing of the film stays constant throughout the efficient runtime. You can sense things are building for one party while the other is concealing something. I found both to be relatable at different points and their logic to be authentic but all over the place, maybe the most realistic thing to do. There are never any major emotional explosions rather stuff that eventually bubbles over and the title A Real Pain works in a variety of ways that are clever. While this movie isn’t tense or thrilling by normal standards I felt aggravated on my occasion since it’s like spending time with someone who just works in the opposite fashion of yourself yet you still don’t want to see them hurting. Whenever Jesse Eisenberg explains how he doesn’t have that ability to grab an entire room but Kieran Culkin does and then he’ll start to snap on the room. The shifts are something that happen instantly with much of his logic is completely contradictory, it makes the whole situation feel more unstable and sad.
My only major gripe was that I felt like the visual language was pretty basic compared to what was available to work with. During a pivotal restaurant scene there is a slow creeping push in that’s very effective, I would have liked to seen some more stuff like it. The few night time sequences looked significantly more pleasing than the daytime ones, would also like to see the camera doing more movement next time out from Eisenberg. Now of course you’re meant to be fixated on the two performances and their dialogue rather than anything showy but a few tricks here and there could have really took this even higher. Regardless it’s still one of the stronger films I’ve seen this year and I highly recommend. Now I’m incredibly curious as to what Jesse Eisenberg decides to do next.
