Jesse Eisenberg directs and stars in this comedy-drama alongside Kieran Culkin as two cousins who go on an adventure to honour their adored grandmother. 

Jesse Eisenberg had made his directorial debut two years earlier with When You Finish Saving the World, based on his original audio of the same name, which was published two years earlier, and starring Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard – a movie I am yet to see at the time of writing. 

However, his second effort here is a very decent one. 

The story concerns mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) who get back for a tour through Poland in tribute to their beloved grandmother. The escapade takes a turn when the odd-couple’s old tensions come back in contradiction of the backdrop of their family history. 

Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin both give very good performances in their respective roles as the two cousins whose adventure honouring their grandmother results in them getting more than they bargained for, but not in the way they had been expecting. They both suit their roles very well and make the most of the time they have on the screen. 

Elsewhere, there are fine performances to be had from Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes and Ellora Torchia in their respective roles as James, Marcia, Eloge, Diane, Mark and Priya. 

The direction from Eisenberg is very good because he allows the facial expressions to be seen to a strong effect throughout, while also keeping a mixed atmosphere happening as well. 

The script is written to a decent standard by the director as he makes the movie good to follow and creates humour too, meaning the movie never takes itself too seriously. But even when the movie isn’t funny, you can still understand what is happening, because the narrative is definitely there from beginning to end. 

The camera stands out best in terms of the technical aspects, because it makes good use of the locations and also captures the tense and funny moments well, which get the edge-of-the-seat status. 

At the time of writing, the movie got 4 Golden Globe nominations: Best Motion Picture, Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg), both in the Musical or Comedy categories, alongside Best Supporting Actor (Kieran Culkin) and Best Screenplay (Jesse Eisenberg). 

The only criticism I have is that the pace is a little slow at times. 

Overall, despite the pacing, A Real Pain is a very decent comedy-drama, due to the excellent performances from Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin, along with the direction, script, mixed atmosphere, tense moments and humour.