With Kieran Culkin taking home the Best Supporting Actor award at the 97th Academy Awards, let’s talk about the film and the role that earned him widespread recognition—including an Oscar, BAFTA, Critics Choice Award, SAG Award, and Golden Globe.
The film follows two Jewish-American cousins who, six months after their Polish-born grandmother’s passing, travel to Poland. Their journey takes them to her childhood home and eventually to Auschwitz—the place where she and countless others suffered under fascism. Their trip is both a tribute and a confrontation with a painful past, a way of remembering not just their grandmother but the millions of Holocaust victims.
The two cousins have starkly different personalities. One is reserved, anxious, and deeply introspective. The other? Outgoing, charismatic, and always in motion—yet his easygoing nature hides a vulnerability that slowly reveals itself. He’s the kind of character who can be frustratingly unpredictable, but also deeply human—someone you might roll your eyes at one moment and want to hug the next.
That’s the role Kieran Culkin brings to life with remarkable authenticity. His performance feels so natural, so effortless, that it almost seems like he’s playing a version of himself. Perhaps that’s why it resonates so deeply. His character, Benjie, and his cousin David (played by Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote the film’s screenplay) are not just characters—they are real, flawed, deeply human figures.
A Real Pain is a reflection on people caught in their own personal struggles—too absorbed in their small worlds to see their own strengths. It’s about fractured identities, lingering grief, and how time distorts memory. Some choose stagnation, holding onto the past, while others push forward, seeking purpose in careers, family, or distraction.
But as the film unfolds, both protagonists learn to embrace life, to let go of their emotional barriers, and to confront their shared history. They navigate their personal pain while coming to terms with the weight of the Holocaust—not as a distant historical event, but as a lived experience, tied to real people.
Kieran Culkin’s portrayal of Benjie is what makes the film so compelling. He embodies a modern man who feels everything too intensely—someone who craves joy but is crushed by disappointment, who seeks connection but struggles with loss. His character is both impulsive and paralyzed by existential dread, making him deeply relatable.
This complexity is likely why Culkin won every major acting award this season. He doesn’t just act—he inhabits the role, turning Benjie into a fully realized person rather than just a supporting character.