Post Strike Cinema 24' - A Real Pain

Happy New Year! With my final and sadly one of the best films of 2024.

Yes my best of list has already gone live (maybe a little too early) then along came A Real Pain.

The comedy-drama film written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, is an international co-production between Poland and the United States.

Starring director Eisenberg, alongside Successions own, Kieran Culkin.

The pair star as a pair of mismatched Jewish American cousins who travel to Poland in an attempt to honour their late grandmother. 

Alongside Eisenberg & Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes also star.

We had a long wait to get this film to our big screens, following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

The film has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for Eisenberg's direction and screenplay, Culkin's performance, and its emotional weight. 

The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named it one of the top ten films of 2024.

And honestly this should have been on my best of list for a year that cinema really didn't kick a load of goals.

With deep subject matter, along with comedy, this may not have worked, however it really did.

I laughed out loud, was touched, all within ten minutes of the film. This was really good cinema. 4 Stars.