--- title: "A Real Pain: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-real-pain/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/a-real-pain" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # A Real Pain (2024): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 13 reviews: 12 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. The reviews for A Real Pain agree almost to a fault. Nearly every critic singles out Kieran Culkin as Benji, the volatile cousin, and most treat his performance as the reason the film works; several call it a step up from anything he has done before. Jesse Eisenberg’s writing and direction draw steady credit for keeping comedy and Holocaust remembrance in the same frame without one crowding out the other, and for a script that finds its laughs in awkward silences. The reservations are quiet: a few find the filmmaking modest next to the acting, Sight and Sound thinks it does not quite hold together as either a road trip or a character study, and one or two note that it ends without easy relief. The one clear dissent comes from The New Yorker, which finds the film stronger as an idea than as drama, the buddy-comedy shtick getting in the way of what it wants to say about inherited trauma. The spread is narrow. ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Rating Critics Pick. 21 January 2024. Festival review. Eisenberg reveals major chops as writer-director in this funny, heady road movie about cousins on a Holocaust tour in Poland. Culkin gives a sensational performance establishing him as a movie star, with the film deftly interweaving comedy and gravitas. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/a-real-pain-review-jesse-eisenberg-kieran-culkin-1235881023/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 29 January 2024. Festival review. The review praises the spiky, funny and personal road-trip movie and the inspired pairing of Culkin and Eisenberg, highlighting Culkin's performance which adds melancholy and despair amid awkward laughs. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-real-pain-review-2024) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2025. The critic calls it a touching character study anchored by Culkin's lively performance, a light movie with a heavy heart that moves gently while hinting at darkness underneath, capturing the dissonance of living amid infinite evil through the cousins' bickering and bonding on the tour. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/a-real-pain-jesse-eisenbergs-movie-is-a-gentle-pleasure.html) ## The AV Club Rating B-. 30 September 2024. The critic finds the film a charming, sensitive two-hander that balances its Holocaust tour narrative and odd-couple comedy, marking an improvement over Eisenberg's debut with wry humor and gut-wrenching heartache, though it ends on a slightly cynical note without simple catharsis. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/a-real-pain-review) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 2024. The film is seen as far better as a concept than as a drama, with a shticky bromance that obscures its attempt to probe the Holocaust legacy. Eisenberg’s effort to find an original cinematic form for the moral burden falls short despite strong conceptual elements. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/a-real-pain-fails-to-stay-in-its-discomfort-zone) ## Empire — Ian Freer 6 January 2025. The film is a sublime mismatched-buddy comedy and road trip that balances funny, solemn, and emotional tones through strong central performances. It succeeds as a tender, funny treatise on family jealousies and our relationship to the past, soaring on the pairing of Eisenberg and Culkin despite modest filmmaking. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/a-real-pain/) ## Los Angeles Times — Gary Goldstein 1 November 2024. Eisenberg’s dramedy is beautifully observed and affecting in its look at mismatched cousins traveling through Poland on a Jewish heritage tour. Culkin delivers a career-best performance as the vivid, compelling Benji, while Eisenberg shows growth as a filmmaker juggling tones. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-11-01/a-real-pain-review-jewish-heritage-jesse-eisenberg-kieran-culkin) ## Screen Daily 20 January 2024. Festival review. The review describes a deeply felt comedy-drama that is uproariously funny yet melancholic, exploring the shadow of the Holocaust and familial bonds, while praising Culkin's impressive performance as the free-spirited cousin who complements Eisenberg. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/a-real-pain-sundance-review/5189652.article) ## Sight and Sound 8 January 2025. The critic finds the film an intelligent take on Holocaust remembrance through a neurotic buddy movie, praising the electric pairing of Eisenberg and Culkin for wit and sensitivity, but notes it doesn’t fully work as a road-trip or character study. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/real-pain-jesse-eisenbergs-neurotic-buddy-movie-intelligent-take-holocaust-remembrance) ## The Guardian 12 January 2025. The film is a whip-sharp comedy and profound character study driven by the sparring between the two cousins, with a career-defining performance from Culkin. Eisenberg’s direction balances irreverence and pathos effectively in this personal story of generational trauma. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/12/a-real-pain-review-jesse-eisenberg-and-kieran-culkin-spar-in-sublimely-bittersweet-holocaust-tour-movie) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 20 January 2024. Festival review. The critic praises Eisenberg's deft lightness in balancing laugh-out-loud humor with an unexpectedly affecting emotional wallop in this odd-couple road trip about cousins honoring their grandmother in Poland. It demonstrates impeccable judgment in reconciling personal troubles with historical trauma. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/a-real-pain-review-jesse-eisenberg-kieran-culkin-1235794351/) ## The Independent 9 January 2025. Eisenberg’s film derives its tender power from genuine questions about generational trauma and grief, framed as an ellipsis that returns the cousins to the start without resolving what happens next. It is elevated by Culkin’s exposed-nerve, wrecking-ball performance as the volatile Benji, which anchors the honest exploration of pain, privilege, and family bonds. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/a-real-pain-review-b2674466.html) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 31 October 2024. The critic praises Eisenberg’s finely tuned, melancholic yet funny exploration of Jewish loss and belonging through the cousins’ heritage tour in Poland. Culkin’s performance as the complicated Benji stands out as outstanding. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/movies/a-real-pain-review-jesse-eisenberg.html) ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey 8 January 2025. A welcome throwback to indie comedy-drama that is ruefully perceptive and laugh-out-loud funny, presenting characters with issues that are understood without artificial fixes. Culkin delivers a killer characterisation that awards-bound. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/a-real-pain-review-jesse-eisenberg-kieran-culkin/) ## The Times 3 January 2025. Eisenberg has pulled off a balancing act that is perfectly weighted between bleak and warm, poignant and irreverent. The double act of Culkin and Eisenberg is captivating, with wise and funny observations on the immigrant experience. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/a-real-pain-review-jesse-eisenberg-kieran-culkin-movie-g2sc6jpm7) ## Total Film — Jordan Farley 25 January 2024. Festival review. Kieran Culkin delivers a compelling, can’t-take-your-eyes-off performance as the raw-nerved Benji at the gravitational center of this sincere, funny Polish pilgrimage. The film makes a sincere attempt to reckon with Poland’s Jewish history while balancing lighter moments, leaving a profound impression despite occasional difficulty matching the depth of its characters’ emotions. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/a-real-pain-review/) ## Collider — Taylor Gates Rating 9/10. 21 January 2024. Festival review. The critic praises the pitch-perfect dramedy blending humor and depth on grief and Holocaust history, highlighting Kieran Culkin's standout performance as Benji. [Read the review](https://collider.com/a-real-pain-movie-review/) ## Consequence Rating A-. 31 October 2024. The review highlights Eisenberg's evolution as filmmaker and Culkin's gift of a role, praising the profound character study contrasting personal emotions with historical pain. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2024/10/a-real-pain-review-jesse-eisenberg/) ## Eye for Film — Jeremy Mathews Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 January 2025. An awkward, moving and funny exploration of familial and ancestral trauma that never feels rushed, elevated by Culkin's commanding, career-defining performance as the magnetic yet volatile Benji. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/a-real-pain-2024-film-review-by-jeremy-mathews) ## HeyUGuys — Nathan McVay Rating 4/5. 22 January 2024. Festival review. A terrific sophomore effort that is an enjoyable, easy watch blending humor with relatable issues of grief and identity while handling heavy subject matter respectfully. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/a-real-pain-review/) ## NME — James Mottram Rating 4/5. 21 February 2025. The critic praises Eisenberg's sensitive direction and the incisive performances, especially Culkin's, in this poignant comedy-drama about two cousins on a heritage tour in Poland. They highlight the film's witty script and respectful handling of Holocaust themes without sentimentality. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/a-real-pain-review-kieran-culkin-jesse-eisenberg-3835641) ## Polygon — Austen Goslin Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 January 2024. Festival review. The critic finds it great, commending the deft script, fantastic performances especially Culkin's, and the powerful exploration of personal relationships and history without grand statements. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/24050799/real-pain-kieran-culkin-jesse-eisenberg-succession-sundance-2024/) ## The Wrap — Chase Hutchinson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 January 2024. Festival review. The critic finds the film a hilarious and heartfelt dramedy that succeeds through its tonal balance. Culkin's lead performance as the troubled, charismatic cousin is singled out as mesmerizing and among his best. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/kieran-culkin-jesse-eisenberg-a-real-pain-review/) ## Film Stories — Maria Lattila Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 8 January 2025. The film is devastating yet rib-ticklingly funny at once, with Culkin's complex, riveting performance as the damaged Benji carrying the two-hander about grief, identity and family tension. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/a-real-pain-review-kieran-culkin-carries-jesse-eisenbergs-sophomore-film/) ## The Playlist — Gregory Ellwood Rating A-/B+. 20 January 2024. Festival review. A funny and moving dramedy about cousins on a Poland tour that balances serious themes with humor, with Culkin stealing the film in a superb, layered performance. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/a-real-pain-review-kieran-culkin-is-superb-in-jesse-eisenbergs-funny-moving-dramedy-sundance-20240120/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/a-real-pain.md