We’re only into April and already studios are plotting their course for the awards season. Searchlight Pictures has made a big move by setting an October 18th date for A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg’s film that he directed and starred in alongside Succession’s Kieran Culkin.
The film was a critical favorite out of Sundance, where Searchlight acquired it. Eisenberg and Culkin play estranged cousins navigating their tense relationship in the wake of their beloved grandmother’s death and a subsequent trip to Poland.
Eisenberg also wrote the script and produced it with Emma Stone and Dave McCrary.
Also in the cast are Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey,Ellora Torchia, Kurt Egylawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes.
The October 18th date puts the film in competition with horror sequel Smile 2, which I don’t think is playing to the same audience. It’s still early, though. Don’t be surprised if more contenders are set around the same date.
Based on Cortland’s early review, it sounds like Culkin could be a major factor this awards season. She called his performance in A Real Pain a “tour de force”, adding “Culkin can communicate a severe melancholy within Benji that is somehow endearing.”
Don’t be surprised if a trailer drops soon after this announcement.
