Film No. 3. A REAL PAIN (2025). 11th Jan.

 

Film No. 3  (2025) January 11th.  12:50 PM  EVENT CINEMAS, Cine 10,  Innaloo.

"I also wanted to say, I know you're not the most comfortable person with people". (Benji opens up on his cousin, desperate to keep everything open when it comes to discussions on their trip).

WINNER: Best Original Screenplay (Jesse Eisenberg) Chicago Film Critics A.A. (2024)

Is film making, for Jesse Eisenberg, his preferred method of personal therapy? He openly talks about how his scripts become a reflection of his streams of consciousness; so yes, undoubtedly. A REAL PAIN (PAIN) is a shining light, reflective of his imaginative process.

To say PAIN is a refreshing blast of a cool breeze on a hot day is an understatement. Cousins Benji (Kieran Culkin) and David (Eisenberg) were once like brothers. Benji is troubled, unreliable, but also charismatic. David commits to Benji's vigil to visit Poland to pay homage at the childhood home of their deceased grandmother. Their Jewish heritage, WWII and its horrors meant paying this respect would "cleanse" them (Benji mainly). Their adventure, as part of a tour group before their visit, is where the real cleansing takes place. Benji centres us in a way that we feel welcome as part of the group. We wander in the hands of guide James, with fellow tour members, Marcia, Eloge, Mark and Diane through multiple towns and cities of Poland. But Benji talks the truth, as he sees things, throughout this 90 minutes of delightful film-making. The actions and reactions to these truths glue PAIN together.

In the same way that Aaron Sorkin stamps his mark on character interaction (MOLLY'S GAME), Eisenberg's style is uniquely his. "Oh, that sounds like an Eisenberg script" will be  exclaimed in years to come. I for one can't wait for his next effort.  10GUMS.