David Kaplan: Yeah
Synopsis
Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour of Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a different turn when the odd couple’s old tensions resurface in the context of their family history. When Benji and David visit their grandmother’s home in Poland, the site is where Jesse Eisenberg’s real-life ancestors settled in the diaspora. Benji Kaplan: We keep moving, we keep light, we keep agile. Benji Kaplan: The conductor will come by, taking tickets, we tell him we’re going to the bathroom. David Kaplan: Bathroom. Benji Kaplan: He gets to the back of the train, he starts walking toward the front looking for stragglers.
Benji Kaplan: Yeah
David Kaplan: Excuse me, are we the stragglers? When he gets to the front, the train will be in the station and we’ll be free. David Kaplan: That’s so stupid. The tickets are probably like twelve dollars. Benji Kaplan: That’s the principle of it. We shouldn’t have to pay for train tickets in Poland. This is our country.
Featured on CBS News Sunday Morning: Episode #4644 (2024)
David Kaplan: No, it’s not, it was our country. They kicked us out because they thought we were cheap. 12 Etudes, Op. 25, No. 3 in F major Written by Frederic Chopin Performed by Tzvi Erez. I’ve always enjoyed watching Jesse Eisenberg’s performances. He usually brings a strong edginess and some quick, clever dialogue to the roles he plays.
David is an uptight billboard ad designer with a wife and son
He just won the Waldo Salt Award for Writing at the Sundance Film Festival for the recently released A REAL PAIN. Eisenberg produced, wrote and directed this “drama” of a relationship study between estranged cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin). Benji is a sensitive and emotionally aware person who is grieving the loss of his grandmother, who he was very close to. They take a trip to Poland together, accompanying a Jewish history tour group, which obviously brings up a lot of different and difficult feelings. This is a beautiful film with fully developed characters who really evolve as it goes along. It’s clear that they’re both going through something, as is everyone in this one. The script is well-paced with a perfect mix of emotional beats and comedy.
That said, I can’t ignore Eisenberg’s performance
This is actually the second film that Eisenberg has written and directed, the first being WHEN YOU FINISH SAVING THE WORLD, which is now on my to-watch list. Having seen SUCCESSION, I knew Kieran Culkin was amazing, and he’s even better in this one. In some ways, it’s harder to play a low-key role, which he’s great at. The film is about generational trauma, different types of pain, and the human condition. I hope A REAL PAIN gets talked about during awards season! From Alien: Romulus to Road House, take a look at some of our favorite posters from 2024.
