Two cousins, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Keiran Culkin, travel to Poland to join a Jewish heritage tour. David (Eisenberg) is a successful professional with a wife and daughter, but tends to play things safe and conservative. Benji (Culkin), meanwhile, is spontaneous, unpredictable, and adventurous. As they travel through Poland, their contrasting approaches to life bring the cousins into conflict and unearth buried tensions between them.

A Real Pain, which not only stars Jesse Eisenberg but is written and directed by him, is an excellent film. If it disappoints at all – and I admit it did, just a little – is that it is doing things that have been done before, and tells a story that feels overly told. It is very well written and performed, and has already gathered considerable acclaim, but there is something that ultimately makes me wish it had a little more originality. That in mind, it is still rock solid work from Eisenberg and his cast. Taken on its own merits, and it still represents one of the better films of 2024.

It is an actor’s movie. Eisenberg’s script is observant and whip-smart, but it only works as well as it does because the actors he has cast perform their roles with such thought and delicacy. Much has already been said in praise of Culkin’s performance, which is nuanced and immensely entertaining – although it remains odd that he won awards as ‘best supporting actor’ when he is clearly the co-lead. Eisenberg is particularly strong as well, and while he fits the same general nebbish persona he has played for years there is some remarkable depth and subtlety here. Given he is pulling triple duty as actor, director, and writer, it seems particularly impressive.

The real supporting cast are excellent, and particular praise must be heaped on Jennifer Grey as Marcia, a divorcee on the same history tour as David and Benji. She has always been a strong performer. For better or worse Grey remains best known for starring in Dirty Dancing (1987), and while she was hugely memorable there she is even better here. It is a fantastic realist performance that entertains and engages without the need for showy drama or big moments. Other actors in the film also manage to make their own impact, particularly Will Sharpe as the group’s guide and Kurt Egyiawan, a Rwandan genocide survivor recently converted to Judaism.

The film is episodic, yes, but films of this nature generally are. Occasionally one’s attention strays, because not all episodes in the chain are quite as interesting as some others. At its worst it is not ever bad, just overly familiar. At its best the film is tremendous. I cannot comment on its authenticity in representing contemporary Judaism among Americans. I severely doubt there is even is a commonality of culture to be depicted – when is there ever? As a thoughtful engagement on culture, history, and family, it is enormously successful, and – in these fraught times where everyone seems to have an opinion about Jews, their faith, antisemitism, and Israel – enormously valuable too.