Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg head out on an international journey of discovery in A Real Pain, a dramedy set to join the 2024 new movie release schedule.
The movie, which had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, is the second writing and directorial outing for Eisenberg, though it marks the first time that he is pulling triple duty and also starring in his own movie. Early results are good, with strong buzz building around A Real Pain.
We’ve got everything that you need to know about A Real Pain right here.
A Real Pain release date
A Real Pain is now playing in US movie theaters. In the UK, the movie will debut on January 10, 2025.
A Real Pain cast
The cast for A Real Pain is highlighted by the tandem of Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg, who star as cousins Benji (Culkin) and David (Eisenberg) in the international road-trip story.
Culkin is coming off of his award-winning performance as Roman Roy in the hit TV show Succession. While his biggest roles have come on TV (he also starred in a season of Fargo and Netflix's recent Scott Pilgrim Takes Off), Culkin's movie credits include the likes of Steven Soderbergh's No Sudden Move, the fan-favorite Scott Pilgrim vs the World and the Steve Martin Father of the Bride movies.
Eisenberg recently had an acclaimed TV role himself, starring in the limited TV series Fleishman Is in Trouble, but he has predominantly worked on the big screen, with his most notable roles coming in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Zombieland, Now You See Me and his Oscar-nominated performance in The Social Network. A Real Pain is actually the second 2024 Sundance movie that Eisenberg stars in, the other being Sasquatch Sunset.
Also in the A Real Pain cast are Will Sharpe (The White Lotus season 2), Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) and Kurt Egyiawan (Bodies).
A Real Pain plot
As we mentioned, Eisenberg wrote the script for A Real Pain. Here is the official synopsis for the movie, via the Sundance Film Festival:
"Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history."
A Real Pain reviews
Critics have been praising A Real Pain since the movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, as evidenced by the movie's "Certified Fresh" score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here is a sampling of what critics thought:
Owen Gleiberman, Variety: "It's a delight and a revelation — a deft, funny, heady, beautifully staged ramble of a road movie…"
Nick Schager, The Daily Beast: "Together, [Culkin and Eisenberg] make for a winning pair, balancing each other in a variety of ways that speak to the material's larger concerns about loss, grief, remembrance and regret."
A Real Pain awards
Check out the round-up of major awards and nominations that A Real Pain has earned to date:
Golden Globes
- Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical (nominee)
- Best Actor Comedy/Musical — Jesse Eisenberg (nominee)
- Best Supporting Actor — Kieran Culkin (nominee)
- Best Screenplay — Jesse Eisenberg (nominee)
Critics Choice Awards
- Best Supporting Actor — Kieran Culkin (nominee)
- Best Original Screenplay — Jesse Eisenberg (nominee)
- Best Comedy (nominee)
Sundance Film Festival
- Grand Jury Prize (nominee)
- Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award US Dramatic — Jesse Eisenberg (winner)
Gotham Awards
- Outstanding Supporting Performance — Kieran Culkin (nominee)
Independent Spirit Awards
- Best Screenplay — Jesse Eisenberg (nominee)
- Best Supporting Performance — Kieran Culkin (nominee)
London Critics Circle Film Awards
- Screenwriter of the Year — Jesse Eisenberg (nominee)
- Supporting Actor of the Year — Kieran Culkin (nominee)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
- Best Supporting Performance — Kieran Culkin (co-winner)
- Best Screenplay — Jesse Eisenberg (winner)
National Board of Review
- Best Supporting Actor — Kieran Culkin (winner)
- Top 10 Film
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- Best Supporting Actor — Kieran Culkin (winner)
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association
- Best Supporting Actor — Kieran Culkin (winner)
- Best Original Screenplay (winner)
A Real Pain trailer
Here is the first teaser trailer for A Real Pain:
The official trailer for A Real Pain is now available to watch right here:
Jesse Eisenberg directed movies
Eisenberg has begun to take on more directing projects. As we mentioned above, A Real Pain is the second movie he has directed, preceded by When You Finishing Saving the World, which like A Real Pain he also wrote.
When You Finish Saving the World also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the 2022 edition and was officially released to general audiences in January 2023. That movie earned a 62% "Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, with audiences enjoying it a bit more, giving it a 73% positive rating on the site.
