Oscar-nominated actor, Jesse Eisenberg is set to take on multiple caps in the upcoming movie, A Real Pain. Eisenberg is set to both write and direct the picture that would also be in coordination with starring in the feature film.
This new project will center around the complicated relationship that exists between two cousins. A Real Pain is set to begin filming in Warsaw in March 2023 and would tell the story of "two estranged cousins who travel to Poland after their grandmother dies to see where she came from and end up joining a Holocaust tour."
Eisenberg will portray one of the cousins alongside Kieran Culkin (Succession). While speaking to ScreenDaily.com, Eisenberg spoke more about the difficult and ‘bittersweet’ relationship the two characters in the film share. “They have a funny, fraught relationship; it’s a bittersweet story, as we realize maybe we don’t fully belong together, but against the backdrop of this incredibly dramatic history,” he said. The Zombieland star went on to add, “I’m trying to ask the question is modern pain valid against the backdrop of real historical trauma. I think I’m speaking to the experience of people [in their 30s] who go back and it’s foreign to them – and now suddenly real.”
Eisenberg’s plans to work on A Real Pain as a director seem all part of a longer-term plan and desire to move away from performing in front of a camera to coordinating behind the scenes. When You Finish Saving the World, Eisenberg’s directorial debut had an open-air screening at Sarajevo Film Festival. While in Sarajevo – the actor’s self-proclaimed favorite city in the world – he was given an honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award and he spoke to Variety about making the switch between job roles. “Maybe unconsciously I thought I could direct a movie, but I never allowed myself to think of it explicitly, because it just feels like such a cliche,” he said. He would go on to explain that directing has brought out the nerves in him but as regards his debut, working with people like Julianne Moore has been easy. “She’s the best,” he said.
Despite his desire to move into directing more, Eisenberg is still excited by the prospect offered by acting and his performance in A Real Pain would be interesting to look at. The storyline for the film and his lineage should make for a keenly observed dynamic given that he is of Jewish descent with his ancestry traced back to Poland.
A Real Pain will be produced by production firm, Fruit Tree owned by Dave McCary, Emma Stone and Ali Herting. The firm was also behind the production of the aforementioned When You Finish Saving The World which also starred Stone.
A Real Pain does not have a release date yet.