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Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother, but their old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

"A Real Pain" follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother, but their adventure takes a dark turn when the odd couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.—Searchlight Pictures

Two polar-opposite cousins, introverted, responsible, neurotic David and extroverted, seemingly-carefree Benji, fly to Poland as part of a Jewish history tour to visit significant cultural and historic sites, including a WW2 concentration camp. Their beloved, recently-deceased grandmother survived the Holocaust and they want to see where she lived. During the course of the tour their contrasting personalities start to cause friction between the two and past issues are rekindled.—grantss

In an attempt to reconnect with their heritage, American Jewish cousins David and Benji travel to Poland to see their late grandmother's childhood home. Benji is an outspoken and free-spirited drifter who stands in stark contrast to David, who is a quiet and practical husband and father. Benji berates David for losing his old fervor and spontaneity, while David battles Benji's unrestrained outbursts and lack of life purpose. Their personalities clash.

James, an informed but aloof, kind British tour guide, has led the two on their trip as part of a Holocaust tour group. From a missed train stop to a confrontation at the Old Jewish Cemetery where Benji criticizes the tour's lack of emotional authenticity and questions its emphasis on facts and statistics, to David's embarrassment, the cousins' relationship is put to the test throughout the journey. Despite this, Benji strikes a chord with the group members, who are moved by his emotional candor.

The tour group gently confronts Benji after he persists in acting inappropriately and making awkward remarks during a group dinner. After Benji leaves the table, David shares with the group his complicated feelings of envy, resentment, and admiration for his cousin. He also discloses that the two have become estranged after Benji attempted suicide earlier that year.

A Nazi concentration and extermination camp called Majdanek is visited by the group on the final day of the tour. James thanks Benji for altering his viewpoint on how he should conduct his tour and tells him that he is the first person on one of his tours to give him real feedback before leaving the group. On their last stop, David and Benji go to their grandmother's old house, where Benji tells the story of how their grandmother slapped him years ago for being late and drunk when he came over for dinner. The slap, he says, made him more humble and clear, and he regrets that she was the only one who could discipline him.

While smoking marijuana together on a hotel rooftop on their last night in Poland, Benji questions David about his altered personality and the reason he never pays him a visit. At first, David replies that he is preoccupied with his wife and daughter, but after Benji's suicide attempt, he finally breaks down and says that he can not stand the idea of someone with Benji's life-passion killing themselves.

After the two of them return to New York, Benji turns down David's invitations to have dinner at his house and to drive him from Penn Station to his train home. As a result, David slaps Benji, but they instantly make amends and declare their love for one another. While Benji sits by himself at the airport, watching other groups of travelers around him, David goes back to his house and welcomes his wife and child; it is suggested that Benji is actually homeless in secret and spends a lot of time at the airport.