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“A Real Pain” (2024) shows Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin working together for the first time, but it feels like they have known each other for many decades. They bring their oddly specific traits to play their roles in this film. Eisenberg plays someone awkward and reserved while Culkin plays his cousin who’s outspoken and spontaneous much like their real-life personalities. This makes sense considering how Culkin was reportedly cast in this film. Eisenberg, who also wrote and directed this film, recently spoke about his unorthodox casting process. Before the film, he had met Culkin briefly, a few times, in passing.
Eisenberg noticed something unique in Culkin’s demeanor that can lend itself to his character in the film. So, he cast Culkin as the unpredictable cousin despite not having seen Culkin’s Emmy-winning turn in “Succession,” coincidently about a man full of contradictions. Alas, Eisenberg’s decision helped us see Culkin’s layered performance that might end up winning him an Oscar. Coming back to the film itself, the open ending leaves people with more questions than answers. So, find the ending explained here along with its core themes.
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A Real Pain (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“A Real Pain” follows two American Jewish cousins traveling to Poland to visit their late grandmother’s childhood home. They hope to use this time to reconnect after growing apart for many years.
What happens in ‘A Real Pain’?
“A Real Pain” follows two same-age American Jewish cousins, David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin), possibly in their 30s. David is a digital marketer living in New York with a wife and kids, whereas Benji is jobless and has no prospects. They recently lost their grandmother, with whom, Benji has a closer bond than David. To honor her memories, they decide to travel to her native land in Poland to see her old house in person. David plans to attend Poland’s Nazi-German Holocaust tour with Benji before they visit their grandmother’s house.
The cousins decide to meet at a New York airport. David keeps calling Benji throughout his cab ride to the airport to check where he is. Benji doesn’t respond. Finally, at the airport, he realizes that Benji has been at the airport for many hours. Once they get on a plane, David briefly talks about his job. Unlike him, Benji doesn’t find it important. He ignores David and makes him pay attention to the stewardess offering instructions. Eventually, they land in Poland and join their tour group led by James (Will Sharpe), a British, non-Jewish tour guide.
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The group includes Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a recently-separated New York resident who regrets spending two decades in LA, Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a Rwandan genocide survivor who converted to Judaism; and Diane (Liza Sadovy) & Mark (Daniel Oreskes), a married couple that realized the effects of the Nazi Holocaust through the eyes of their parents. Benji reacts enthusiastically to their stories. David finds his behavior odd and distasteful even though their tour partners are not visibly bothered by it. This interaction offers us a first look into their dynamic.
David & Benji’s Bond as Cousins
Throughout the tour, David is calm and composed while Benji is lively and spontaneous. Benji goes to speak with Marcia, worried she is alone. David feels he should offer her space instead. Unlike David, Benji bonds quickly with others. He sneakily brings marijuana to this country while David feels scared of its potential implications. However, it’s difficult to put them in just a single behavioral bracket. We see signs of Benji’s distress in their later journey when they get on a train to visit the Old Jewish Cemetery. Benji finds it odd that they are sitting in the first class considering the cruelties their ancestors experienced in the same land. So, he leaves with the group and David follows him.
Soon, David falls asleep and Benji doesn’t wake him up. Later, they get down at the wrong station. Unlike David, Benji is not worried about it. They soon board another train without tickets and rejoin the group for a tour. They walk through the local streets, listening to James’ barrage of factual knowledge. It annoys Benji since he finds James’ approach cold and detached. So, he gets angry and makes James reconsider it. Benji tells David about an incident when their grandmother slapped him.
Later, at dinner, David recounts something that she used to say about immigrant families and how the situation changes in the following generations. It upsets Benji as he finds it hurtful. So, he leaves the table. David apologizes to others for Benji’s erratic behavior and reveals the painful details of Benji’s suicide attempt.See AlsoThe Best Reviewed Movies of 2024 - IGN
Why did David arrange a tour for him and Benji?
David was worried about Benji’s mental health in the wake of their grandmother’s passing. That’s why, he asked Benji out on this tour just so he can check on Benji’s health. While at dinner, David gets emotional as he struggles to realize the root of Benji’s pain. David understands that all human life is filled with pain but he doesn’t react to it viscerally as Benji does. Suddenly, in the middle of this conversation, they see Benji playing the piano. David acknowledges that he and Benji used to learn it together. It is presumably another thing Benji held onto while David lost it as they grew older. So, another reason for this tour might also be his desire to find his old spark.
A Real Pain (2024) Movie Themes Analysed:
“A Real Pain” uses its characters, their traits, and life’s philosophies to reveal the deeper themes of emotional pain, grief, and identity, without being didactic.
Rebellion vs Submission
“A Real Pain” shows David as a reserved but organized adult with a job and a family. Unlike him, Benji is carefree. David thinks Benji is being flippant while Benji thinks David has lost his passion and spontaneity. Benji wears his heart on his sleeves whereas David rarely expresses what he truly feels. While on tour, Benji wants to take a photo of him standing next to the Warsaw Uprising Monument. David finds it odd and immature since the monument represents the spirit of the rebels who fought against grave injustice. Still, Benji does what he wants and, to David’s surprise, the group members join him.
Later, during a dinner with the group, Benji’s spontaneity feels erratic. He calls out rich people for their stupidity just after Diane shares the survival story of Mark’s ancestors. David opens up about Benji’s emotional struggles and mentions his different way of approaching the emotional pain in his life. He understands that everyone has their baggage but prefers to be a responsible adult who doesn’t react to every inconvenience. When compared to Benji, he seems too buttoned-up. One might mistake his behavior as a sign of his sadness. However, he is more content in his life despite the issues.
The film shows David’s submission to his reality as opposed to Benji, who feels stuck in the moment. Benji desperately wants to stay in touch with people around him. So, as opposed to David, he seems rebellious. He doesn’t suppress his emotions when that feels like a norm in our present world which constantly turns a blind eye to cruelties to go on with their life. Eisenberg’s script does not judge either David or Benji. Rather, it is interested in exploring the nature of pain and how we choose to process it.
Identity
During a scene from “A Real Pain,” Benji briefly talks with David about their American identity, which leads to an interesting chain of thought. Benji wonders what their lives would have been if they still lived in Poland and if their ancestors were not exiled from their land. Unlike them, Benji and David have learned to live as Americans and it has become a big part of their identity. Even when they visit their grandmother’s old house, they refer to themselves as Americans and cannot speak the local language. It doesn’t negate their heritage as Jewish people from Poland but it leads us to realize that identity cannot be rigid. They are ever-evolving especially for a land built by immigrants.
The Nature of Pain and Grief
“A Real Pain” shows David and Benji reuniting shortly after their grandmother’s death. David’s purpose behind this trip is to check on Benji, owing to his emotional struggles. Benji hopes to reconnect with David, who drifted away from him as an adult. Even though they live in the US, their ancestors were tortured and forcefully evicted from their homeland. David and Benji process these past traumas differently. Benji feels guilty for sitting in a first-class train seat in a country where their ancestors suffered. He sobs after witnessing the horrifying remnants of past horrors.
Benji finds James’ guiding approach dry and potentially self-gratifying since it doesn’t dig into the emotional history of these individuals. He cannot let go of his past baggage, which peeks through his behavior now and then. Unlike him, David wonders whether he should express his pain or sadness, which reflects the moral conundrum of many second-generation immigrants.
Should they mourn the pain of their inconveniences or should they be only grateful for their lives since their ancestors survived unfathomable tragedies? The film makes us consider this dilemma. Through David and Benji, the script shows how there are different ways to process pain and channel grief.
A Real Pain (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
After an emotional dinner with the tour group, David returns to his room but Benji doesn’t. David tries to find Benji but to no avail. The next morning, Benji calls David, asking why he is late. It upsets David but he doesn’t let it ruin their day. That day, they visit the Nazi German Majdanek concentration camp and witness the horrors of the past. Benji finds it overwhelming. So, he starts sobbing on their back. Finally, he and David part ways from the group and travel to their grandmother’s old house. Before that, they spend a night at the hotel.
Benji brings David to smoke weed on the rooftop. Benji opens up about how much he misses being in David’s company. He wonders why David doesn’t make time for him. David asks why Benji doesn’t come to New York to be with him since he has a family and a job to take care of. He accidentally makes Benji worry about his lack of prospects and instantly regrets it. He cares for Benji but doesn’t know how exactly to help him with his pain.
The next day, they travel to their grandmother’s old house and keep stones on the front according to a Jewish tradition to pay respects to the departed. An old neighbor notices them and objects to it. The cousins reveal the reason behind their gesture, but the neighbor wants them to remove them from the porch. So, in a country where their ancestors once lived, they feel like outsiders.
What does ‘A Real Pain’ ending really mean?
At the end of “A Real Pain,” David and Benji visit their grandmother’s old house and leave Poland right after. They land in New York and start walking through the airport. David invites Benji to stay with him and his family. Benji says he wants to stay at the airport for a while. David finds it odd. Out of nowhere, he slaps Benji. He recalls how their grandmother also slapped Benji. So, by doing the same thing, he might be trying to fill the gap she has left in Benji’s life. However, he doesn’t spell out his intention. Instead, he and Benji share a tight hug before he leaves.
In the film’s final moments, David returns home, keeps a stone in front of his building (for the aforementioned reasons), and receives a warm welcome from his wife and kid. However, Benji sits at the airport staring into oblivion. The ending is open for interpretation and doesn’t go the usual Hollywood route to tie everything in a sophisticated knot. It leaves us with an uncomfortable silence with a man, who is full of contradictions. He is spirited but tormented and is potentially going through some financial troubles.
Benji’s refusal to leave the airport is perhaps rooted in the lack of fulfillment or closure from the trip as he might have expected it to provide. He does not have a clear direction of where he is heading, especially in the wake of his grandmother’s death, who was likely his pillar. So, the melancholic ending shows him occupied with all his worries. It’s not clear whether he will immediately return to his hometown, live with David for a while, or go somewhere else. The film expects us to ponder upon it.