Writer, director, producer, and star Jesse Eisenberg has made a splash with “A Real Pain”, an emotionally rich and organically funny dramedy that follows two Jewish cousins on a trip to better understand their late grandmother’s past. In the process, the two end up learning more about themselves and each other. It may sound like a fairly conventional premise. But Eisenberg infuses his film with such humanity that he has no trouble earning our empathy.

The film opens with the two cousins meeting at the airport in New York City. Within seconds its easy to see that they couldn’t be more different. First is David (Eisenberg), an buttoned-up and tightly wound digital advertising specialist who lives in a comfy Manhattan brownstone with his wife and young son. And then there is Benji (Kieran Culkin), a crass but naturally charming free spirit who flies by the seat of his pants and has no problem sharing whatever is on his mind.

Like many cousins, David and Benji grew up close but drifted apart as their lives took different paths. But they’re brought back together by the recent passing of their grandmother. Both loved her very much, but we learn she had an especially close relationship with Benji. Now they are coming together to fulfill their grandmother’s dying wish – to take money she left them and travel to Poland to learn about where she came from.

After the pair reunite in New York, they fly to Warsaw where they join a small but intimate tour group led by a knowledgeable British guide named James (Will Sharpe). Filling out the group is a recently divorced middle-aged New Yorker named Marcia (Jennifer Grey) who is there to honor her mother, an African-born Jewish convert named Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan) who survived the Ruwandan genocide and now seeks to better connect to his faith, and a somewhat stuffy retired couple, Mark (Daniel Oreskes) and Diane (Liza Sadovy).

One of the film’s biggest strengths lies in Eisenberg’s impressive ability to balance the heaviness of his movie’s themes with moments of levity. Culkin’s Benji brings an irreverent and rambunctious energy to the Holocaust tour group. And while that may sound incredibly insensitive, Eisenberg’s humanizing touch ensures sensitivity and pathos. The humor is organic to the characters and it compliments their arcs while helping to better define them.

“A Real Pain” has received a lot of buzz since premiering earlier this year at Sundance. In that time Culkin has garnered most of the attention and he certainly earns it. But his character (and by extension his performance) wouldn’t have the impact without the sturdy and on-point Eisenberg as his foil. Together they get to the heart of the movie which turns out to have more on its mind than just remembrance. It’s also a movie about reconnection, understanding, and finding your way forward. It asks several questions that have no easy answers. But it leaves us thinking about them which testifies to Eisenberg’s prowess.

VERDICT – 4 STARS