The framework and idea of this movie are great, but the execution lacks the depth of which the two leads are capable. A REAL PAIN is a solid and interesting directorial debut, but it needed to be either more or less. I wasn’t sure if it was a movie about generational trauma, the relationship between a grandmother and a wayward grandkid, or Culkin’s mental health issues. I still liked it, though.
Raised a star on my second viewing. I first saw this film near the time it came out, and I am amazed how differently a film can hit after the distance of some time. Coppola’s debut is a home run. She captures the time (mid 70s), a place (the heart of America’s car industry and its affluent suburbs), and how what essentially is a violence toward our women and girls is often coupled with a reverence for the unattainable. Coppola brings the Madonna-whore dichotomy to film in a beautiful and complex way.
For the first hour, I was all in. What was not to like? There was an amazing cast that could not be afforded today and beautiful cinematography. There were believable nods to the silver rush, the Civil War’s aftermath, suffragettes, addiction to laudanum, the scourge of tuberculosis, and cowboys!
The second hour started off on a decent foot. It was in the third act that I began to feel like I was watching a movie that was directed by committee.…
See Rock Hudson at his finest. This unforgettable film explores, in part, midcentury societal pressure and the resulting cages many find themselves trying to escape. See Grandpa Walton, Will Geer, as perhaps never before, orchestrating others’ fates. I’ll gladly see this again and again to examine every scene and gesture by its star-studded cast.
