A REAL PAIN Trailer 2 (2024) Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin

A REAL PAIN Trailer 2 (2024) Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin

A REAL PAIN Trailer 2 (NEW, 2024) Kieran Culkin, Jesse Eisenberg, Drama Movie
© 2024 - Searchlight Pictures

Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg are the oddball duo no one knew we needed.

The two actors lead “A Real Pain,” which Eisenberg wrote and directed. The feature is Eisenberg’s sophomore film after his directorial debut “When You Finish Saving the World,” and the trailer for “A Real Pain” is now here. Watch it below.

The official synopsis for “A Real Pain” reads: “Mismatched cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.”

Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes co-star.

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“A Real Pain” is produced by Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Ali Herting, Jennifer Semler, Ewa Puszczynska, and Eisenberg.

Eisenberg told Esquire that working with “Succession” Emmy winner Culkin changed his own perspective on improvised takes in films.

“I really don’t like improv, but Kieran is such an unusual performer. He would say things that deviated from the script, and a lot of times they were just better,” Eisenberg said. “When I first heard something that was a deviation, it rang a false note for me because I had to look at the script for so long. But in the editing room we ended up going with some of Kieran’s improvs because they just felt natural to him.”

Eisenberg also told IndieWire at the Sundance premiere of the film that he never saw “Succession” before casting Culkin in his “buddy comedy” set against the backdrop of a Holocaust tour.

“Kieran is not a person who likes to jump at work from project to project. He’s incredibly picky,” Eisenberg said. “My sister said to me, ‘There’s one person who could play this part: Kieran Culkin.’ I finished the script. Talk about a year later, we’re in the position to make an offer to him and I was just praying he would do it. […] There was a poll, there was even an article about him trying to drop out of a movie. So we were worried he could do it. It was hard to get him, but he’s so good in the movie. We both are good in the movie but he’s great.”

“A Real Pain” premieres November 1 in theaters from Searchlight. Check out the trailer below and read the IndieWire review for “A Real Pain” here.

Read More:
A Real Pain
Film
Jesse Eisenberg
Kieran Culkin
Trailers
A new trailer for Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin's A Real Pain has debuted. Following its premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, A Real Pain received positive reviews, and currently holds a 91% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. It follows two cousins, David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin), who travel across Poland to honor the memory of their late grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor. Eisenberg also directed and wrote the comedy-drama film.

Searchlight Pictures has now released the official trailer, which shows how different David and Benji are in an equally heartfelt and humorous story. David and Benji are seen meeting at the airport and joining a tour group once they arrive in Poland, with these arrangements being made by David. As they travel with their group and learn more about their grandmother's history, David and Benji's complex relationship is explored, along with how each of them is grieving for their grandmother.

What The Trailer Means For A Real Pain
The Dramedy Has Academy Award Potential

A Real Pain's trailer captures a balance of humor and emotionally resonant drama that aligns with the praise following the film's Sundance debut. It immediately captures the cousins' mismatched dynamic as David anxiously calls Benji at the airport, only to be left with a voicemail saying, "Boner is not available," along with Benji insisting that it is fine to bring marijuana to Poland, which worries David. This comedy is balanced out by teases of both characters' struggles and their grief.

Edited image of Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin & Jennifer Grey at A Real Pain's Sundance premiere
Related
Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin & A Real Pain Cast On Filming In Poland [Sundance]
A Real Pain director Jesse Eisenberg and costars Kieran Culkin, Jennifer Grey, and Will Sharpe discuss exploring generational trauma in Europe.

Both Eisenberg and Culkin appear well-suited to their respective roles and share an effortless chemistry that will make A Real Pain rewarding to watch. If the film's reception continues to be strong following its theatrical release, it could lead to Eisenberg and Culkin's performances being recognized by the Academy Awards, along with Eisenberg's direction and writing being recognized as well. Eisenberg's portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network received an Academy Award nomination, and Culkin had multiple Emmy Award nominations and a win for Succession, but A Real Pain could become their first Academy Award wins.

Our Take On A Real Pain's Trailer
A Real Pain Is A Must-Watch
Jesse Eisenberg taking a picture in A Real Pain
A Real Pain is poised to be one of the best films of 2024. The humor and drama are already landing in the trailer, which bodes well for the full-length film. Eisenberg and Culkin are compelling to watch in a story that looks like it will be deeply moving and personal to watch while also giving plenty of reasons to smile. A Real Pain has genuine Academy Award potential, but will likely be a story that is remembered long after the awards season ends.

Source: Searchlight Pictures

A Real Pain Official Poster
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6/10
A Real Pain
Comedy
Drama
A Real Pain is a comedy-drama written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. The film follows two cousins who head to Poland to settle affairs after their grandmother's death, but a strange series of events leads them to become part of a Holocaust tour group.

Director
Jesse Eisenberg
Release Date
January 20, 2024
Writers
Jesse Eisenberg
Cast
Jesse Eisenberg , Kieran Culkin , Will Sharpe , Jennifer Grey , Kurt Egyiawan
Runtime
90 Minutes
Studio(s)
Topic Studios , Fruit Tree , Extreme Emotions , Rego Park

LOS ANGELES -- The official trailer for Searchlight Pictures' "A Real Pain" is finally here (WARNING: TRAILER CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE).

The film stars Jesse Eisenberg (David) and Kieran Culkin (Benji) as mismatched cousins, reuniting for a tour around Poland to honor their late grandmother. As their trip goes on, it takes a turn as family dynamics resurface to the forefront of the pair's relationship.

"I love him, and I hate him, and I want to be him," David says about Benji.

The comedy-drama premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where Jesse Eisenberg won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.

Variety called it "a beautifully complex ramble of a road movie."

"A Real Pain" is written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, with additional cast members including Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy and Daniel Oreskes.

Dave McCary, Ali Hertin p.g.a, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg p.g.a, Jennifer Semler and Ewa Puszczynska are producers.

"A Real Pain" begins playing in theaters November 1.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Searchlight Pictures and this ABC station.
Searchlight Pictures on Tuesday unveiled the first trailer for A Real Pain, the buzzy Sundance dramedy marking the sophomore feature of actor-turned-filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg, which hits theaters on October 18.

In the film, also scripted by Eisenberg, he and Kieran Culkin play cousins David and Benji, who reunite for a tour of Poland to honor their grandmother, but see older tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family’s history. Searchlight snapped the pic up for $10 million in the first major deal out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, as we were first to report, and sources tell us the project is being looked at as an awards contender.

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Hailing from Topic and Fruit Tree, A Real Pain also stars Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing), Will Sharpe (The White Lotus), Kurt Egyiawan (Beasts of No Nation), Liza Sadovy (A Small Light) and Daniel Oreskes (Only Murders in the Building). Producers on the project included Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Ewa Puszczynska, Jennifer Semler, Eisenberg, and Emma Stone.

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For Eisenberg, the film comes on the heels of When You Finish Saving the World, his dramedy starring Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard, which was released by A24 in January 2023 after premiering at Sundance. Currently, his newest film is set to open against Paramount Pictures’ Smile 2, which also just released its first trailer, as well as Lionsgate’s Mark Wahlberg thriller Flight Risk, and an as-yet-unnamed title from Universal Pictures.

Most recently unveiling Sundance family drama Suncoast, on the heels of its Oscars triumph with Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, Searchlight will next release Lanthimos’s anthology Kinds of Kindness (June 21), which is coming off of its Cannes premiere, as well the Hulu-bound The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat (August 23) and Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch, starring Amy Adams, which today was announced as being among the first titles selected for the 2024 Toronto Film Festival.

View the trailer for A Real Pain above.

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Read More About:
A Real Pain
Jesse Eisenberg
Kieran Culkin
Searchlight Pictures
A Real Pain

Directed by Jesse Eisenberg
Written by Jesse Eisenberg
Produced by
Ewa Puszczyńska
Jennifer Semler
Jesse Eisenberg
Emma Stone
Ali Herting
Dave McCary
Starring
Jesse Eisenberg
Kieran Culkin
Will Sharpe
Jennifer Grey
Kurt Egyiawan
Liza Sadovy
Daniel Oreskes
Cinematography Michał Dymek
Edited by Robert Nassau
Production
companies
Topic Studios
Fruit Tree
Rego Park[1][2]
Extreme Emotions
Distributed by Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
January 20, 2024 (Sundance)
November 1, 2024 (United States)
Running time 90 minutes[3]
Countries
Poland
United States[3]
Language English
A Real Pain is a 2024 comedy drama film, written, directed, and produced by Jesse Eisenberg. It stars Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes. Emma Stone serves as a producer under her Fruit Tree banner.

It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024, at the 62nd New York Film Festival on October 6, 2024, and is scheduled for limited theatrical release in the United States on November 1, 2024.

Premise
A Real Pain follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

Cast
Jesse Eisenberg as David Kaplan
Kieran Culkin as Benji Kaplan
Will Sharpe as James
Jennifer Grey as Marcia
Kurt Egyiawan as Eloge
Liza Sadovy as Diane
Daniel Oreskes as Mark
Ellora Torchia as Priya[4]
Production

Principal photography in Lublin
In August 2022, it was announced Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin would star in the film, with Eisenberg directing from a screenplay he wrote, with Emma Stone and Dave McCary set to produce.[5] It marks Eisenberg's second feature film as writer/director, after 2022's When You Finish Saving the World.[6]

Principal photography began in May 2023.[7][8]

Release
It premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024.[9] Shortly after, Searchlight Pictures acquired worldwide rights to the film for $10 million in an all-night auction.[10][11] The film will have its European premiere at the 20th Zurich Film Festival in October 2024.[12] It was also announced as part of the 'Meeting Point' slate of the 69th Valladolid International Film Festival.[13]

Originally scheduled to be released in the United States on October 18, 2024,[14] the film's release was subsequently pushed by two weeks to November 1.[15]

Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 55 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Led by a scene-stealing turn from Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain is a powerfully funny, emotionally resonant dramedy that finds writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg playing to his strengths on either side of the camera."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[17]

Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood praised Culkin for his performance, calling it "a career high".[18]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
Sundance Film Festival January 26, 2024 Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic A Real Pain Nominated [19]
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award Jesse Eisenberg Won
References
Gleiberman, Owen (January 21, 2024). "'A Real Pain' Review: Jesse Eisenberg Becomes a Major Filmmaker — and Kieran Culkin a Movie Star — in a Funny, Knife-Sharp Odyssey". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
Rooney, David (January 20, 2024). "A Real Pain' Review: Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin in a Film That Flows From Humor to Unexpectedly Affecting Places". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
"A Real Pain". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
"Ellora Torchia". Conway Van Gelder Grant. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
Dalton, Ben (August 17, 2022). "Jesse Eisenberg to direct 'A Real Pain', will star opposite Kieran Culkin (exclusive)". Screen International. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
Goslin, Austen (January 26, 2024). "Jesse Eisenberg's new movie A Real Pain has what Succession fans have been missing". Polygon. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
"PRODUCTION: Jesse Eisenberg Shoots A Real Pain Starring Himself and Kieran Culkin in Poland". Film New Europe. May 26, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
Dowell, Stuart (May 19, 2023). "Hollywood duo surprise Muranów locals after being spotted filming in Warsaw". The First News. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 6, 2023). "Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 21, 2024). "Searchlight Lands Jesse Eisenberg-Directed 'A Real Pain' In First Big Sundance $10M WW Deal; 'Succession's Kieran Culkin Stars In Poland Road Trip Pic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
Galuppo, Mia (January 21, 2024). "Sundance: Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin Movie 'A Real Pain' Sells to Searchlight Pictures". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
"Oscar contenders as gala premieres at the ZFF". mailings.zff.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
"La Seminci mantiene su apuesta por el cine independiente estadounidense". Diario de Valladolid (in Spanish). September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
Tangonan, EJ (April 2, 2024). "A Real Pain: Jesse Eisenberg's new film releases a new behind-the-scenes photo and announces a release date". Joblo.com. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 2, 2024). "Marvel Studios 2026 Title Subtracted From Release Sked, Searchlight's 'A Real Pain' Shifts". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
"A Real Pain". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 11, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
"A Real Pain". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
Wise, Damon (January 22, 2024). "'A Real Pain' Review: Kieran Culkin Leaves Roman Roy Behind In Jesse Eisenberg's Intimate Road Movie – Sundance Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
"AwardsWatch - 2024 Sundance Film Festival Awards: 'In the Summers, 'Didi,' 'Daughters' Top Winners". AwardsWatch. January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
External links
A Real Pain at IMDb
vte
Emma Stone
PerformancesAccolades
Producer
When You Finish Saving the World (2022)Problemista (2023)Poor Things (2023)I Saw the TV Glow (2024)A Real Pain (2024)Bugonia (2025)
Songs
"City of Stars""Audition (The Fools Who Dream)"
Related
Fruit TreeDave McCaryGwen Stacy (The Amazing Spider-Man film series)
Category
Categories: 2024 films2024 comedy-drama films2024 independent filmsAmerican comedy-drama filmsAmerican independent filmsPolish independent filmsPolish comedy-drama filmsEnglish-language Polish filmsFilms set in PolandFilms shot in PolandFilms about the aftermath of the HolocaustTopic Studios filmsSearchlight Pictures filmsSundance Film Festival award-winning films