We're currently in the midst of awards season, where some of the best movie projects from the last year are recognized in a variety of upcoming awards shows. One title that's been getting plenty of nods is Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain, which is streaming currently with a Hulu subscription. I finally streamed it myself, but there’s one aspect of Kieran Culkin’s outstanding performance that's bothering me.
Following Culkin's recent Golden Globe win, there are way more folks figuring out how to stream A Real Pain. The hype around the project reached a fever pitch thanks to the 2025 Oscar nominations, where Eisenberg's screenplay and Culkin's performance were honored. But I'm a little annoyed that the Succession alum is up for the Supporting Actor categories when he's the protagonist of the film, in my opinion.
A Real Pain focuses on two cousins going on a trip through Poland to honor their late grandmother. Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin share basically every scene together and have outstanding chemistry as estranged relatives struggling with trauma and grief. But the idea that Culkin's Benji is the "supporting" character is pretty laughable; the movie literally begins and ends with him in the airport.
While Jesse Eisenberg's David is perhaps the "everyman" and the audience's entry point into the story, Benji is the heart of A Real Pain. Watching his layers of trauma and emotionality unfold throughout the film's 90-minute runtime is deeply moving, especially his devastated reaction to visiting a former Nazi concentration camp.
This performance feelings like a stellar follow-up to Kieran Culkin's Emmy-winning work on Succession (which is streaming with a Max subscription). And funny enough, he'll be competing against his former co-star Jeremy Strong in the Best Supporting Actor category for this year's Oscars. In a strange way it feels like a the multiverse at play with the Roy sons, who so often quarreled throughout the show's runtime.
Culkin's work as Benji was one of the most impactful film performances I've seen in a while, and that includes all the awards favorites that I've been catching up on. He pivots between being wildly charming and chewing on the scenery to breaking the hearts of other characters and the audience alike. He's able to weave in the history with Benji's late grandmother, his suicide attempt and the atrocities of the Holocaust, as well as his stained relationship to Eisenberg's character into one powerhouse performance.
All of this say that Culkin doesn't feel like a supporting actor in A Real Pain in the least bit. Obviously studios are being strategic in trying to get the most Oscar attention as possible, and that been working for the 42 year-old actor. We'll just have to see if he takes home an Academy Award to go with his Golden Globe.
A Real Pain is streaming now on Hulu. Check out the 2025 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
