At its heart, A Real Pain is a simple story. A pair of mismatched cousins spend their inheritance on a trip to Poland, the country where Dorrie, their grandmother and provider of said inheritance, was born. When they were young, the Kaplan boys were close. David (Jessie Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin), hung out all the time. Per Benji, David 'used to be fun' but has become quiet, careful, buttoned up. You can see he feels like he's an 'outsider'. Benji, always a bit of a wild child, makes friends easily, cares little about convention and enjoys pushing people's buttons – especially David's.

In honor of Dorrie's memory, David books a 'Heritage Tour' of Warsaw, Poland for the two of them. They join a group of strangers including the recently divorced Marcia (Jennifer Grey) and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a survivor of the Rwanda massacre, who has found solace in Judiasm.  They take in the historical sites including the Jewish ghetto where so many perished, and Majdanek, the concentration camp located just on the outskirts of the bustling town of Lublin. The scenes shot here were chilling and eerily quiet, to honor the hundreds of thousands of innocent victims gassed in that prison. The pair get a taste of Polish culture, drink beer, buy silly hats, pose in front of statues. However, they don't interact much with actual Poles, which disturbs Benji. It doesn't feel authentic to him. 

Poland, by the way, is a beautiful country and the videography brings it to life. Though the scars from the war remain, the people are friendly, the streets clean, even the passenger trains are sleek and well-managed. I sat there saying, 'hm, maybe I should visit Poland. My own ancestors also came from that country'.

For years the bond between the two was strong, more like brothers than cousins. Then they grew older, grew apart. David, now living in NYC, has an established career in online pop-up advertising. He has a family and a child whom he cherishes, he's moved forward. Benji, unmarried, jobless, still living with his Grandma Dorrie in upstate NY, was devastated by her passing. How deeply her death affected him, and the repercussions, aren't made clear to us till the end of the film. It is apparent throughout that Benji embraces and needs to honor the past.

Yet A Real Pain is more than a humorous travelogue. We're taken on an emotional journey; the dialogue between Benji and David is filled with sarcasm, fights, regrets and fears. The cousins challenge each other. Benji, still grieving, exhibits bouts of manic highs and lows. He can't sit still, is always on the move, always pushing boundaries of what's appropriate, whether he's in a restaurant or a cemetery. While in the airport, Benji tells David that he's looking forward to smoking some weed with him when they get to Poland. That throws David's agitation, which is carefully controlled by doses of anti-anxiety meds, into hilarious overdrive. Benji obviously relishes the effect he has on his cousin, believing by his actions, he will push him out of stagnation.

David is homesick almost before the trip begins. He watches videos of his child on autoplay. He is surprised and pleased when Benji also gets a kick out of the vids. Benji is constantly saying and doing things that make David embarrassed and anxious, feeling like he must apologize for his cousin's bizarre behavior. Benji gets annoyed and tells David that 'he used to be more fun, what happened to him'?  David feels he must be Benji's guardian at all times, but Benji is having none of that. The rest of the tour group are patient through these episodes, sometimes annoyed, sometimes amused. But they are far more forgiving of Benji than David is.

I fear that none of this sounds especially interesting on paper. Yet give it a chance.  It's beautifully cast, beautifully written, as well as directed, by Jessie Eisenberg.  A Real Pain is more about the symbiotic relationship between two people than anything else. The resilience of a bond constantly tested and prodded. Holding too close and needing to let go.  Things left unsaid because they are family, where some truths are just too hard to speak, so they use their eyes or a hug instead.  Each admiring the thing in the other that they feel is lacking in themselves.  With a lot of heart, the film eventually reaches that raw place of emotional nakedness it was seeking.

Lisa Blanck is the Associate Editor / Movie Reviewer for In Focus-Magazine.com and is a member of the Critics Association of Central Florida.  Her background includes 30+ years of digital editing for NBC and CBS News affiliates.  She also edits national promotional spots for Matter Of Fact, the #1 nationally syndicated news & information program.  For 30+ years she has covered the Florida Film Festival & the World Peace Film Festival, and has additional award-winning experience in advertising, marketing, promotions and live special events with MTV Networks.