Jesse Eisenberg’s second directorial effort tackles loss and remembrance with the type of insight and effortlessness of a more seasoned filmmaker. We begin by meeting an anxious David (Jesse Eisenberg) and his go-with-the-flow cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin) at the airport. They’re about to embark on a trip to Poland to honor their late grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor. The two used to be close but it’s immediately clear they’ve since drifted apart—an unfortunate symptom of adulthood. While David frets about making it to the gate on time (he’s running late), Benji is preoccupied with his plans to smuggle weed into Poland. 

 

The group tour they join is full of older adults who all have some tie to the Holocaust and Poland. They make their way through landmarks, cemeteries, and historic sites while grappling with the immensity of such a horrific event. The cousins are forced to navigate the recent loss of their grandmother while exploring the area she grew up in. Their reactions to the pain and grief they share is a sharp contrast. Benji is prone to emotionally-charged outbursts, fueled by both his loss and his struggle with their privileged position of being on the tour. David attempts to fly under the radar, not quite as connected to the others in the tour group and dealing with his own suffering second as he tries to corral Benji’s erratic behavior. 

 

Eisenberg as a director doesn’t make any statements visually. Most of the one hour and thirty-minutes is shot incredibly straightforward. He doesn’t waste time with unusual setups or painstakingly choreographed images. It’s the story that does most of the work here and he’s crafted a good one. Instead of boxing in Benji and David, Eisenberg lets their paradoxes and dualities run amuck. They both admire each other for qualities they don’t possess. David longs for Benji’s free spirit and his knack for connecting with anyone in the room. Benji envies David’s stability and the perceived ease he has in assimilating into adulthood. Both are dealing with the pain of losing their grandmother as well as what the Holocaust means to them as young Jewish men. 

 

These intense and complex issues and feelings won’t be wrapped up in a nice little bow at the end of ninety minutes. And what Eisenberg does best (and what many directors take years to learn) is to let things be unresolved. He’s helped immensely by Culkin’s powerhouse performance. He hits all the right notes, infusing his outbursts with an undercurrent of subtle pain and sadness that resonates with anyone who has dealt with loss. He is magnetic, pulling us (and the members of the tour group) towards him, then deftly shoving us all away. But you’ll want to stay on this emotional roller coaster until the credits roll.