A Real Pain

Two years after making his debut as a director with When You Finish Saving the World, actor Jesse Eisenberg, who is forever connected with his role as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, presents his sophomore feature in the director's chair. And this time, he stars in it himself, as David, one of two American cousins with Jewish roots who travel to Poland in search of the roots of their grandmother who emigrated from Europe after the Holocaust. David is a typical Eisenberg-character: a neurotic control freak. His cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin fresh of his Succession success) is his opposite: an extroverted blabbermouth. Throughout this poignant road movie, they grow closer but also dig deeper into themselves. Eisenberg manages to present a heavy subject with lightheartedness, making ample room for laughter. A real tour de force that definitively puts the actor on the map as a director.