Born weeks apart, cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) were as close as brothers growing up, yet have drifted apart due to the responsibilities and disappointments of adult life. After the death of their beloved grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, David accompanies Benji on a trip to Poland, as a pilgrimage to both her hometown and to sites haunted by the genocide of World War II. Initially following a tour group (featuring elegantly scripted characters played with effortless nuance by such actors as Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, and Will Sharpe), the tightly wound David and the manic-neurotic Benji confront their own raw resentments and personal demons, which are further laid bare by the backdrop of an insuperable history. Anchored by spirited performances by its dynamic stars, writer-director Eisenberg’s A Real Pain is a work of compassion and maturity that alternates nimbly between anxious comedy and meditative drama.

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