33/20
David Kaplan: Yeah
Scenario
Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour of Poland in honor of their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd couple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. When Benji and David visit their grandmother’s home in Poland, the place is where Jesse Eisenberg’s real-life ancestors settled in the diaspora. Benji Kaplan: We stay mobile, we stay light, we stay agile. Benji Kaplan: The conductor will come over, take tickets, and we’ll tell him we’re going to the bathroom. David Kaplan: Bathroom.
Benji Kaplan: Yeah
Benji Kaplan: Gets to the back of the train, starts heading toward the front looking for stragglers. David Kaplan: Sorry, are we the stragglers? By the time I get to the front, the train will be in the station and we’ll be home free. David Kaplan: This is fucking stupid. Tickets are probably twelve bucks. Benji Kaplan: It’s the beginning.
This is our country
We shouldn’t have to pay for train tickets in Poland. David Kaplan: No it’s not, it was our country. They kicked us out because they thought we were cheap. Featured on CBS News Sunday Morning: Episode #46.44 (2024). A Real Pain As an American of Polish descent, A Real Pain interested me because of the premise. Two cousins had lost their grandmother and chose to visit Poland where she was from and escaped the Holocaust.
It can express silliness, sadness, intense grief, human sentimentality, joy and frustration all at the same time
The movie then hits you hard with the literal, figurative, metaphorical, and emotional definitions of A Real Pain. Kieran Culkin is absolutely phenomenal in this movie playing Benji who is so lost in the world after his grandmother’s death that the pain erupts in heartbreaking and understandable ways. I relate to the character so much because Benji clearly shows signs of bipolar disorder which manifests in emotions so strong that you feel them along with him. It is dizzying but so raw and real that Jesse Eisenberg, playing his cousin David, does his usual character of bumbling anxiety that it gets boring. But in this movie it works, because David tends to play the role of the mirror that reflects back to Benji what it is like to not experience pain. The characters relate well to each other because one feels too much and the other feels nothing.
Go watch this
This movie was spectacular. It is filled with so many emotional nuances that I want to watch it again just to see Benji’s body language and facial expressions again as my heart shatters along with his. The plot itself is very basic, but what is most important is the impact on the characters. I haven’t even commented on the other characters in the movie, but they are just as important. They all interact with Benji in such a way that it becomes more and more real and relatable. It’s a rollercoaster.