#SUNDANCE: “A REAL PAIN” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

Cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their recently deceased beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

Writer-Director  and star Eisenberg returns to Sundance, after premiering his feature debut When You Finish Saving the World in 2022, to have the world premiere of his outstanding second feature. It’s an intimate portrait of family told between these two use-to-be-cousins, while additionally displaying love and grief for the history of Jews in Poland.

This moving story is told beautifully through David and Benji. Eisenberg is strong as the repressed David. Displaying the buried grief and anxiety his character has forced within him. Culkin steals the show as the charismatic and honest to-a-fault Benji. The recent Emmy-Winner anchors his emotional Benji making him the beating heart of the film.

Searchlight Pictures acquired A Real Pain at Sundance ’24. It currently doesn’t have a release date.

A Real Pain is in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at this year’s Festival.

A Real Pain screens at Sundance ’24:

Jan 20 at 11:45 AM at Eccles Theatre

Jan 21 at 9:30 AM at Eccles Theatre

Jan 23 at 9:30 PM at Rose Wagner Theatre

Jan 24 at 5:30 PM at Redstone Cinemas – 2

Jan 26 at 6:00 PM at Magaplex Theatre at The Gateway – Theatre 1/2/3

Online — Jan 25 – Jan 28

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