A Real Pain (2024)
The film opens with cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin) reuniting at a New York airport, setting the stage for a journey filled with personal tension and unresolved grief. David, a married man with a son, is anxious about being late, while Benji, carefree and single, claims to have been at the airport for hours. They’re about to embark on a Jewish heritage tour to Poland, in honor of their late grandmother, Dory.
Once they arrive at their hotel in Poland, Benji makes an odd remark about David’s feet, which signals the first of many moments where Benji’s behavior feels both eccentric and uncomfortable. The cousins meet their fellow travelers, including Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a solitary woman, a couple named Mark and Diane (Daniel Oreskes and Liza Sadovy), and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a Rwandan refugee who converted to Judaism. Benji, ever the provocateur, immediately engages Eloge in conversation, probing into his background, which David worries could cause trouble, though Eloge appreciates the curiosity and shares an emotional story.
As the group tours the city, Benji pushes David out of his comfort zone by encouraging playful and outlandish group photos at a Polish soldier monument. Benji’s antics continue, including a loud outburst on a train where he can’t help but express discomfort at sitting in a car that would have once transported Jewish prisoners to concentration camps. David, feeling responsible for his cousin, follows him when he switches to another train car.
Their journey takes a wrong turn when they miss their stop, leading to an adventure where Benji uses his quick thinking to evade paying for new tickets. They sneak into a first-class car to get back on track, with David reluctantly following his cousin’s lead. They eventually reunite with their tour group, who had been waiting for them.
Later, at a cemetery, Benji disrupts the somber atmosphere with his critique of their tour guide, James (Will Sharpe), for reducing the graves to mere statistics. In a moment of defiance, Benji convinces the group to place stones on the grave of a random person, as a tribute to their memory. At dinner that night, Benji, slightly intoxicated, continues his inappropriate behavior, but David tries to make amends with the others by apologizing for his cousin. The group, particularly Marcia and Diane, are empathetic, understanding that Benji is grieving the loss of Dory. David opens up to them about how Benji attempted suicide six months ago, revealing the depth of his cousin’s inner turmoil. The evening takes an unexpected turn when they hear the sound of a piano playing, only to discover that Benji has snuck away to play, an expression of his emotional complexity.
The next day, the group visits a former concentration camp, and while others process the significance of the site with deep reflection, Benji struggles to contain his emotions. James thanks him privately for influencing the tone of the tour, acknowledging Benji’s impact on how the history is presented.
That evening, after parting ways with the group, David and Benji sneak away to a rooftop at the Hotel Victoria, where they share one final joint. What begins as a friendly moment quickly escalates into an argument. Benji, fearing the end of their relationship after the trip, accuses David of becoming emotionally distant. David lashes out, angered by Benji’s suicide attempt and the emotional turmoil it caused for the family. The argument exposes the deep wounds between them, rooted in both Benji’s reckless behavior and David’s repressed feelings.
On their final day in Poland, the cousins visit Dory’s old home. Benji shares a poignant memory of their grandmother slapping him across the face for being late, an act that Benji sees as a defining moment in his life. They leave stones on the porch as a tribute, but an elderly neighbor and his son question their gesture. They explain that leaving stones could cause a safety hazard, and the cousins reluctantly remove them, a bittersweet moment of realization that their attempts to honor Dory’s memory are imperfect.
Back in New York, David invites Benji to his home for dinner, but Benji, ever the lone wolf, declines, claiming that the airport is the best place to meet interesting people. In a moment of frustration, David slaps Benji across the face, mimicking Dory’s action, hoping it will inspire some change. But Benji simply laughs it off, and they share a heartfelt hug, acknowledging the complexity of their relationship.
David returns home to the warmth of Priya and Abe, who greet him with open arms, while Benji is left alone at the airport once again. The film closes on this poignant contrast between the two cousins, each caught in their own emotional journey, yet unable to fully connect despite the shared history that binds them.
