After seeing Kieran Culkin win a Golden Globe, SAG award, and an Oscar for his performance in A Real Pain I knew I had to watch the movie. I had been wanting to watch it since I saw the trailer, but with school and life in general, it slipped my mind. I thought it was really interesting that Jesse Eisenberg wrote, produced, and starred in his own movie, and I was curious to see how that worked out. My social media feed was filled with clips from interviews of Culkin and Eisenberg, and I immediately fell in love with their friendship. Their personalities, and humour, complement each other so well.
The chemistry they share off screen really shone through in their characters in the film. Culkin’s character, Benji, and Eisenberg’s character, David, are cousins who travel to Poland to learn more about their Jewish heritage. They take a series of tours, and end their trip by visiting their Holocaust survivor grandmother’s house. The relationship between David and Benji feels so natural, and their acting is so instinctive that it doesn’t even feel like they’re playing characters. After watching their interviews, it honestly seems like they weren’t playing characters at all.
Eisenberg has said in interviews that when he wrote the script, he originally didn’t know which character he would play, and it was possible he would act as Benji, who is the extremely outspoken, charismatic, and charming character. Now, if you know anything about Jesse Eisenberg, you know that is not his personality at all. He is kind of awkward and quiet, he talks pretty fast and you can tell he is nervous, which is charming in its own sense, but I could not picture him playing a character like Benji. Not to say that he couldn’t do it, but his brand has pretty much become about him being OCD, which he has publicly talked about his diagnosis with the disorder.
The movie was very cinematic, and the scenery was beautiful. On the trip to Poland, Benji and David become acquainted with their tour group. They spend pretty much every day with this group, and each character has their own minor backstory. Benji especially gets very close with some of the people, they are all enamored by him. Benji’s character has a personality that is very familiar to me, I’m sure a lot of people feel this way as well. We all know someone who is like him, and we all know how endearing they can be. However, they can also be very, very, annoying to be around. Everything affects them very deeply, and it’s hard for them to regulate their emotions. While this can be extremely frustrating, we still love them because they are so unapologetically themselves. This film portrayed that very well, and Kieran Culkin was perfect for the part.
David is much more closed off, a contrast of Benji. You know when you’re around someone who is yelling, or making a scene, and you talk very quietly to try to get them to also lower their voice? To me, it feels like David is being so opposite of Benji in hopes that he will calm down. The other people in the group like David, but they don’t love him like they love Benji. You can see that when David talks, his words don’t have the same effect that Benji’s do.Â
So, if Benji is too much, and David is too little, is there a perfect in-between? It’s evident that David is jealous of Benji’s charisma, but it’s also clear that Benji isn’t all that in love with himself. Both Benji and David have something that the other wants, but would getting that thing really improve their lives? Or should they try and find peace with who they already are?
Overall, I loved this movie. Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin’s interviews are what really sucked me into wanting to watch this film. I think it is pretty amazing that Eisenberg wrote and had a hand in producing the film. I’m aware this is the second movie he has written, but I believe he could continue on with a serious career in screenwriting if he ever decides he wants to quit acting.Â