Cert - 15

Run-time - 1 hour 30 minutes

Director - Jesse Eisenberg

Cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) embark on a week-long tour of Poland in the wake of their Holocaust survivor grandmother's death.

A Real Pain has received much praise for acknowledging the awkwardness around some of its subject matter. Tensions rise between 'joined-at-the-hip' cousins family man David (Jesse Eisenberg - also serving as writer, director and co-producer) and isolated Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they explore the past of their Jewish family via a trip to Poland, in their wake of their grandmother's death, herself a Holocaust survivor. As the pair join a tour group for the week Benji's emotional responses to the world and history around him wildly vary in the wake of possible depression and mental health issues.

The film often avoids saying that this is the case and while dealing with such points, and David's reactions, in a considered manner can sometimes seem as if it's awkwardly dancing around them. Culkin himself gives a great performance, tipped for awards glory, in a very traditional vein. If this film, and his performance, were to exist in and around the 80s it would have been destined for a sweep of top prizes. This isn't, of course, to say that A Real Pain feels outdated, despite a lack of directness to some of Benji's behaviour.

It's perfectly fine for things not to be said, but there could be looks of communication or a better approach and understanding from the film. While well-handled in a group dinner scene where the dialogue comes together once Benji has got up from the table, the best parts of the film are those where indeed little is said. The best scene involves an almost silent visit to Majdanek. A selection of expositional shots wonderfully captured by Eisenberg, who does a great job of bringing you into each location and its history, show the concentration camp dwarfing the characters; pushing you back in your seat. After, you want the silence to last just a bit longer instead of going to another Chopin piece as soon as possible.

Yet, even after this there's still room for humour. While not every laugh hits there are a good deal throughout the short 90-minute run-time, particularly as the cousins reacquaint in the wake of their bereavement. The aim is clearly a lighter drama rather than an out-and-out comedy, and Eisenberg certainly achieves this. Forming a more accessible film which highlights the continuing impact and different familial connections and lives lived because of the past.

Certainly, there isn't a clash between the humour and more serious elements. These are well-balanced and as a whole the film remains tonally consistent. It's more the bumpy patches as depictions of awkward moments and general awkwardness and uncertainty feel as if they're treated somewhat awkwardly themselves. There's still a likable film here, and one that knows how to contain its story and does so effectively with engaging moments of conversation about identity, the different meanings of pain and what to do with it.

Three stars