‘A Real Pain’: What It Means to Remember 

In 2022, Jesse Eisenberg released his directorial debut, When You Finish Saving The World, to mixed reactions from audiences. With A Real Pain, Eisenberg steps into the director’s chair once again. Where When You Finish Saving The World struggled to find its footing, A Real Pain confidently delivers the story of two opposite cousins on a heritage tour of Poland. Since its premiere at Sundance this past January, I’ve been looking forward to seeing how Eisenberg would handle a comedic tone in a film exploring the lasting generational trauma of the Holocaust. With A Real Pain, Eisenberg has definitely found his stride as a writer and director, expertly balancing comedy and melancholy in turn as his characters travel through their grandmother’s homeland and unpack their own past. 

The film centers on David (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight husband and father, who is often overshadowed by his abrasive yet charismatic cousin, Kieran Culkin’s Benji.

Café Society Is Short and a Little Too Sweet

Woody Allen’s latest film, Café Society stars Jesse Eisenberg as Bobby Dorfman, a Bronx native trying out Hollywood for the first time under the wing of his uncle, prominent film executive Phil Stern (Steve Carell). Bobby begins working for his uncle and meets members of the 1930s Hollywood elite. Along the way he falls in love with the cool and refreshing Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), his uncle’s secretary. Vonnie appears to reject the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but when we learn she is having an affair with Bobby’s uncle, it becomes apparent that she wants to be a part of “Café Society” just as much as anyone else. Their complicated romance has a lasting effect on Bobby, and shapes the rest of his journey throughout the film.