Jesse Eisenberg – The Movie Gourmet

A REAL PAIN: whose pain is it?

November 18, 2024 by movie gourmet

Photo caption: Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in A REAL PAIN. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain begins as an odd couple comedy and evolves into something much deeper. Cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) adored their late grandmother and are honoring her by taking a pilgrimage to Poland to see her homeplace and the Nazi death camp that she survived.

The two forty-year-olds were inseparable growing up, but have drifted apart as adults. David, although he takes medication for his OCD, is highly functional; he has a solid job and lives in NYC with his beautiful wife and adorable son. Benji still hasn’t landed anywhere outside of his family’s upstate basement.

David is a little neurotic and little uptight, but his behavior is well within the normal band; he would be an amiable traveling companion. On the other hand, Benji is erratic, unfiltered and immune to embarrassment and social convention. They have signed up for a guided group tour, and Benji’s unrelenting, inappropriate antics mortify David. To the audience, it looks like Benji is the Real Pain of the title.

But, as the story is unspooled, we learn that Benji is just not quirky – he’s a very damaged human being. His emotional distress is the source of the film’s title. David is frustrated that he cannot fix Benji’s pain, and the ambiguity in the ending is very truthful.

Kieran Culkin’s performance as Benji is extraordinary. He captures all Benji’s charm, impulsiveness, empathy, and profound, underlying sadness.

The rest of the cast is very good, especially Jennifer Grey (yes, THAT Jennifer Grey) as a tour group member and Will Sharpe (White Lotus) as their guide.

Eisenberg wrote and directed A Real Pain as well as starring in it. Eisenberg has said that he was exploring the contrast between “epic pain” (e.g., the Holocaust and its continuing impact) to “more modern pain” (i.e., the real anguish of we who may be hurting personally, but don’t have to worry about survival). The grandmother’s house that David and Benji eventually find is the real former home of Eisenberg’s own relatives.

As a screenwriter, Eisenberg demonstrates real talent for subtlety, in creating a unique character and in exploring sobering topics, leavened with just enough humor. And, as a director, Eisenberg gets some credit for Culkin’s performance.

The soundtrack is almost entirely Chopin, which is both Polish and (vital for indie filmmakers) in the public domain. The Wife found it distracting, and it had a somnolent effect on me.

Watching A Real Pain does not tantalize the viewer into planning a trip to Poland.

Eisenberg’s character David is always wearing a University of Indiana baseball cap. That’s interesting because Indiana is the perennial doormat of Big Ten football and has actually lost more games than any other team in the 140-year history of college football. What Eisenberg could not have possibly known when shooting the film is that Indiana football would be having its best year ever, and, as I write this, is a shocking 10-0.

You might get the impression from the trailer below, as I did, that A Real Pain is lighter than it is. A Real Pain is now in theaters.

Stream of the Week: THE END OF THE TOUR – smartest road trip movie ever

November 10, 2015 by movie gourmet

Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel in THE END OF THE TOUR

The brilliantly witty and insightful road trip movie The End of the Tour isn’t great because of what happens on the road – it’s great because we drill into two fascinating characters and see how their relationship evolves (or doesn’t evolve). Leads Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg are both Oscar-worthy, and The End of the Tour is on my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far.

In 1996, David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) is a novelist of modest success, having deeply embraced the New York City writer’s scene, and is supporting himself as a journalist for Rolling Stone Magazine. Suddenly- and out of nowhere – David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) explodes on the scene with his masterpiece Infinite Jest and is immediately recognized as a literary genius. Lipsky is confounded by Wallace’s meteoric rise – and jealous and resentful, too.

Lipsky arranges to accompany Wallace on the last few stops of his book tour and record their conversations, so Lipsky can write a profile of Wallace for Rolling Stone. It’s clear that Lipsky plans to write a sensationalistic celebrity take down – and Wallace is so odd that there’s plenty of ammunition.

All of this REALLY HAPPENED. Years later, after Wallace’s death, Lipsky wrote a memoir of the encounters, on which the movie is based. Eisenberg and Segel got to listen to the tapes of the actual conversations between the two.

The End of the Tour is a battle of wits between two very smart but contrasting guys. Wallace is new to fame, very personally awkward, not at all confident and gloriously goofy; he seems to be an innocent, but he’s VERY smart and not entirely naive. Lipsky is all Chip On the Shoulder as he probes for Wallace’s weaknesses. As different as they are, the two are competitive and snap back and forth, verbally jousting for the entire trip. At one point, Lipsky accuses Wallace of pretending to be not as smart as he is as a “social strategy”.

As funny as is their repartee, it becomes clear that Wallace is inwardly troubled, and clinging to functionality by his fingernails. Wallace gets more confident and begins to trust Lipsky, but Lipsky is still predatory, glimpsing into Wallace’s medicine cabinet and chatting up an old flame of Wallace’s. Still, the intimacy of a road trip forces them to share experiences, which COULD become the basis for a bond.

They even share moments of friendship. But will they become friends? Is there real reciprocity between them?

Who has the power here? Wallace has the power of celebrity, and dominates Lipsky’s chosen vocation. Lipsky has the power to destroy and humiliate Wallace. Ultimately, as we see in the movie, the person who NEEDS the most will cede the power in the relationship.

Director James Ponsoldt has succeeded in making a brilliantly entertaining drama about two smart guys talking. There’s never a slow moment. We’re constantly wondering what is gonna happen. Ponsoldt has already made two movies that I love – Smashed and The Spectacular Now. No one else has made conversation so compelling since the My Dinner with Andre, and The End of the Tour is much more accessible and fun than that 80s art house hit.

Ponsoldt fills the movie with sublime moments. In one scene, we see the two watching a movie with two female companions. In the darkened theater, two characters are focused on the screen and two are gazing at others. It’s a shot of a couple of seconds, nothing happens, and there’s no dialogue – but the moment is almost a short story in and of itself.

For a true-life drama, The End of the Tour is very funny. The humor stems from situations (the two rhapsodize on Alanis Morisette, of all people), behavior (Wallace’s peculiarities and Lipsky’s limitless snoopiness) and the very witty dialogue. There’s a classic moment when Lipsky has Wallace talk on the phone to Lipsky’s wife (Anna Chlumsky) and is very uncomfortable with the results.

What is the funniest line in the movie? Who wins the battle of wits? And what’s their relationship at the end? Those questions propel the audience along the smartest road trip movie ever – The End of the Tour. It’s available streaming from Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

THE END OF THE TOUR: smartest road trip movie ever

August 14, 2015 by movie gourmet

[Note: I’m repeating this post because The End of the Tour, which opened two weeks ago is being released much more widely today, and will be much easier to find in theaters. See also my The End of the Tour: the filmmakers speak.]

They even share moments of friendship. But will they become friends? Is there real reciprocity between them?

THE END OF THE TOUR: smartest road trip movie ever

July 30, 2015 by movie gourmet

They even share moments of friendship. But will they become friends? Is there real reciprocity between them?

To Rome with Love: amusing minor Woody

July 2, 2012 by movie gourmet

The title says it all – To Rome with Love is Woody Allen’s affectionate missive to Rome, more amusing than the average greeting card but no more substantial. It’s not great Woody, nor is it bad Woody. But minor Woody (like To Rome with Love) is still funny and smart, even wise sometimes.

Allen cuts between four unrelated and more or less simultaneous stories. In the first, a comedy of manners, Woody and Judy Davis play an American couple in Rome to meet their daughter’s (Alison Pil) Roman beau and his family. There’s a culture clash and the impulses of Woody’s character create comic havoc.

In the second (and best) tale, Alec Baldwin plays a man in his fifties who is recalling the Roman adventure of his twenties, this time imparting his life wisdom to his younger self (Jesse Eisenberg). What mature man wouldn’t want to relive his single days knowing what he now knows about women? In this case, Eisenberg’s girlfriend introduces him to her alluring but surely unreliable gal pal, played by Ellen Page. Baldwin’s sage is warning him off, but the younger man can’t help but become entranced with a woman who strews relationship carnage behind her. When Eisenberg thinks that he is seducing Page, Baldwin cynically points out that Page has just popped a Tic-Tac to be ready for a kiss. When Woody has him “melt” Page’s actress with a line about her being deep enough to play Strindberg’s Miss Julie, we recall that the real Woody has dated the likes of Louise Lasser, Diane Keaton, Stacy Nelkin and Mia Farrow. It’s good stuff.

The third story, and least successful, is a farce in which a young Italian bridegroom must impress his uptight relations despite some contrived mistaken identity.

The fourth story is an allegory on today’s culture of silly and unearned celebrity. Roberto Benigni is perfect as an ordinary Giuseppe plucked out of his hum drum routine and made an instant celebrity. No comic can play befuddlement or nouveau entitlement like Benigni.

To Rome With Love stars the usual splendiferous Woody cast. Judy Davis, Penelope Cruz, Alison Pil, Alec Baldwin and a host of Italian actors are all just fine, but don’t have to stretch; (this also applies to 2012’s annoyingly ever-present Greta Gerwig). But Woody himself is outstanding, as are Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg and Roberto Benigni.

DVD of the Week: The Social Network

February 8, 2011 by moviegourmet

The birth story of Facebook is a riveting tale of college sophomores that are brilliant, ambitious, immature, self-absorbed and disloyal – and about to become zillionaires. It’s a triumph for director David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson’s War). Sorkin has written a screenplay about nerdy guys writing computer code and has made it fast-paced, understandable, funny and even gripping.

The most compelling aspect of the film is Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg’s Zuckerman has few social skills, less social aptitude and exactly one friend, yet creates a framework for other people to share scores and even hundreds of “friends”. Eisenberg carries the film with an especially intense performance of an emotionally remote character. Eisenberg has been underrated despite strong performances in Adventureland, Zombieland and Solitary Man. Here, it is impossible to think of another actor who could so vividly create this Zuckerman.

The rest of the cast is outstanding, especially, Justin Timberlake (as Napster infant terrible Sean Parker), Armie Hammer, Rooney Mara and Douglas Urbanski.

One more thing: Fincher and Sorkin know how to end a movie.

It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2010.

2010 in Movies: Breakthroughs

January 2, 2011 by moviegourmet

One of the most rewarding aspects of watching movies is seeing the emergence of new talent. Here are some pleasant surprises from the past year.

With just her second feature, Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone) has emerged as an important filmmaker to watch. She presented an unflinching look at the Ozark meth dealer subculture without ever resorting to stereotype. Granik hit a home run with every artistic choice, from the locations to the spare soundtrack to the pacing to the casting. I’ll be watching for her next film.

20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence is in every scene of Winter’s Bone. With a minimum of dialogue, she creates a lead character of rarely seen determination.

14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld plays the main character in the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, a girl of unrelenting resolve and moxie. Without her performance, the movie could not have been the success that it is, and she has no problem standing up to the likes of Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon.

The Swedish actress Noomi Rapace was new to us Americans when she originated the very original character of damaged, angry, master hacker Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Although Rooney Mara will play Lisbeth in the upcoming David Fincher versions, I’m sure that Noomi Rapace will fetch some Hollywood offers.

Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) and Jonah Hill (Cyrus) showed us that their acting ranges are far wider than previously evident.

Mia Wasilova had a very good year in The Kids Are All Right and Alice in Wonderland. I’m looking forward to see her work in 2011, starting with Restless.

Screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe tried a novel approach in Going the Distance that respected the audience – creating characters like the ones we know in real life, who talk and act like real people do. And, instead of an implausible set-up, the conflict was the real problem of a bi-coastal romance. He wound up writing the year’s best rom com.

Edgar Ramirez carries the 5 1/2 hours of Carlos. I’m sure we’ll see the Venezuelan star soon in a Hollywood vehicle.

Ajami was co-written and co-directed by Scandar Copti, a Jaffa-born Palestinian, and Yaron Shoni, an Israeli Jew. After seeing the film, I was surprised to learn that it has no trained actors – all of the roles are played by real-life residents who improvised their lines to follow the story line. Ajami is a unique project, but I hope that Copti and Shoni continue their collaboration.

Touching Home is a little movie with a big performance by Ed Harris The film was written and directed by and stars the Miller twins, Logan and Noah, who tell the story of their own alcoholic father. The authenticity of the writing and Harris’ performance make this an exceptionally realistic depiction of alcoholism. The Miller twins made the most of their debut, and I look forward to what they do next.

The Social Network

October 4, 2010 by moviegourmet

The best and most entertaining movie of the Fall tells the birth story of Facebook, and may win Oscars for director David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson’s War). It’s a riveting tale of college sophomores that are brilliant, ambitious, immature, self-absorbed and disloyal – and about to become zillionaires.

Let’s reflect on Sorkin’s challenge here; he is writing a screenplay about nerdy guys writing computer code and making it fast-paced, understandable, funny and even gripping. To compound his challenge, all of the main characters but one are extremely obnoxious, yet he makes us care about what happens to them.

Yet the most compelling aspect of the film is Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg’s Zuckerman has few social skills, less social aptitude and exactly one friend, yet creates a framework for other people to share scores and even hundreds of “friends”. Eisenberg carries the film with an especially intense performance of an emotionally remote character. Eisenberg has been underrated despite strong performances in Adventureland, Zombieland and Solitary Man. Here, it is impossible to think of another actor who could so vividly create this Zuckerman.

This is a uniformly well-acted movie. Justin Timberlake is terrific as Napster infant terrible Sean Parker. Armie Hammer is outstanding as both of the Winklevoss twins, the entitled, preppie wunderkinden. Rooney Mara nails her scenes as Zuckerberg’s soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. Douglas Urbanski (usually a producer) does a viciously hilarious impersonation of former Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Larry Summers.

One more thing: Fincher and Sorkin know how to end a movie.

Solitary Man

June 21, 2010 by moviegourmet

Solitary Man: Michael Douglas plays a man whose selfishness and charm know no bounds, and whose impulsiveness drives him into spiraling self-destructiveness. Douglas’ performance keeps us caring about this unattractive character and there is humor in his comeuppances. Mary-Louise Parker, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Jenna Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg and Olivia Thirlby round out the excellent cast.