David Kaplan: Yeah
Plot
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, starts walking toward the front looking for stragglers. David Kaplan: Excuse me, are we the stragglers?
Benji Kaplan: Yeah
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. 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 #4644 (2024)
12 Etudes, Op. 25, No. 3 in F major Written by Frederic Chopin Performed by Tzvi Erez. A Real Pain As an American of Polish descent, A Real Pain appealed to me because of its premise. Two cousins have lost their grandmother and choose to visit Poland, where she came from and escaped the Holocaust. The film then hits you hard in the feels with the literal, figurative, metaphorical, and emotional settings of A Real Pain. Kieran Culkin is absolutely phenomenal in this film as Benji, who is so lost in the world after his grandmother’s death that the grief erupts in ways that are both heartbreaking and understandable. I really related to the character because Benji clearly shows signs of bipolar disorder that manifests itself in emotions so strong that you feel them right along with him.
This movie was spectacular
He can express silliness, sadness, intense grief, human sentimentality, joy and frustration all at the same time. It’s mind-boggling, but it’s so raw and real. Jesse Eisenberg, playing his cousin David, plays his usual character of awkward anxiety that is getting tiresome. But in this film, it works because David tends to play the role of the mirror reflecting back to Benji what it’s like to not feel the pain. The characters work well together because one feels a lot and the other feels nothing. It’s full of so many emotional nuances that I want to watch it again just to watch Benji’s body language and facial expressions again as my heart breaks along with his. The plot itself is very basic, but it’s the impact on the characters that is most important. I haven’t even talked about the other characters in the film, but they are equally important.
Go watch this
Everyone interacts with Benji in such a way that it becomes more and more real and relatable. Ugh! It’s a rollercoaster ride. From Alien: Romulus to Road House, check out some of our favorite posters from 2024.
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