The film follows two Jewish-American cousins who both travel to Poland to honor their late grandmother as they take part in a heritage group tour through the country to connect with their late grandmother and their roots. Along the way, they deal with their growing differences as well as deal with their grandmother’s past and the current state of their lives. Jesse Eisenberg’s screenplay is straightforward in its narrative as it is a character study of sorts in the two protagonists, he creates in the strait-laced family man David Kaplan (Jesse Eisenberg) and the free-spirited Benji Kaplan (Keiran Culkin). Using the money they inherited from their grandmother, they travel from New York City to Poland where they part of this group tour that include the retiree couple from Shaker Heights, Ohio in Mark and Diane (Daniel Oreskes and Liza Sadosky, respectively), the recently-divorced Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a Rwandan genocide survivor in Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan) who converted to Judaism, and their British tour guide in James (Will Sharpe).
Eisenberg’s script brings a lot of depth to the people that David and Benji are with, as Mark and Diane are interested in learning about the former’s family roots while Marcia is also trying to find herself having gone through some recent events in her life. Eloge’s interest in Poland has more to do with his own interest in Judaism as well as wanting to learn the similarities of what he went through and the Jewish community during the Holocaust. During this trip, David and Benji deal with one another as the latter often speaks out over certain things while hiding things about himself that David would later share with the group. The two also leave the group early to see their grandmother’s home in Krasnystaw to honor her with Benji wanting to go there due to the close relationship he had with her.
Eisenberg’s direction is straightforward in terms of its compositions as it is shot on locations in Poland as well as some locations in New York City including JFK International Airport. Notably as he aims for intimate compositions in his presentations for scenes in the airplanes, trains, and buses as well as scenes in hotel rooms and restaurants through close-ups and medium shots. Eisenberg also uses wide shots for some of the locations including shots in various landmarks in cities and towns of Poland include Warsaw, Lublin, and Krasnystaw. Even as Eisenberg would create scenes such as Benji and the tourists reenacting the Warsaw Uprising with its monument behind them as it highlights Benji’s willingness to keep things lively to make the tour a bit more fun for everyone. It is among these lively moments that Eisenberg put into the film though the tour is an exploration of one of the most horrific events of the 20th century. Eisenberg also play into the differences between David and Benji with the former often sending phone messages to his wife back in New York City whenever he is alone while Benji would wander in a hotel where he and David would go on a roof to smoke some marijuana that Benji smuggled.
Eisenberg also plays into the darker elements of the trip as it relates to certain places that James takes the group to including a gravesite where Benji becomes annoyed by James being factual and to be aware that these are real people. It is among some of the somber moments in the film, including a dinner where David reveals to the group about Benji who went to the bathroom. One of the film’s most stark moments involves the group visiting the Mjdanek concentration/extermination camp as Eisenberg keep things simple and at a distance. Even in some of the buildings as it is among the stunning and discomforting moments in the film. Eisenberg still maintains a balance of comedy and tragedy as it plays into David and Benji’s trip to Krasnystaw to find their late grandmother’s home as well as the idea of what is next for them. Overall, Eisenberg crafts a touching and comical film about two mismatched Jewish-American cousins traveling to Poland to honor their late grandmother.
Cinematographer Michal Dymek does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography in capturing the naturalistic look of the locations in Poland in the daytime as well as some of the usage of light for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editor Robert Nassau does amazing work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts to play into the some of the comical moments as well as giving the film some offbeat moments in the drama. Production designer Mela Melak does excellent work with the look of David’s home in New York City in its interiors as well as the look of some of the hotel rooms that they stay in. Costume designer Malgorzata Fudala does nice work with the costumes as it is casual that all the characters wear including a baseball cap that David wears and the loose clothing that Benji wears.
Visual effects supervisor Yuval Levy does terrific work with the visual effects as it set-dressing in some of the locations including bits in New York City and the videos that David has on his phone. Sound editor Tim Korn does superb work with the sound in the way a location sounds as well as in some of the sparse moments in the film. Music supervisor Erick Eiser does wonderful work in compiling the music as it features piano pieces by Frederic Chopin that is performed by Tzvi Erez as it adds a somber mood to the film.
The casting by Jessica Kelly is marvelous as it feature a couple of small roles from Ellora Torchia as David’s wife Priya and Jakub Pruski as their son Abe. Daniel Oreskes and Liza Sadovy are superb in their respective roles as the retired couple Mark and Diane as they travel to Poland for the former to learn about his ancestor’s homeland as they both make some witty comments about themselves and their trip. Kurt Egyiawan is fantastic as Eloge as a Rwandan genocide survivor who converted to Judaism as he is someone fascinated by the religion which plays into his own conversion as well as wanting to understand the similarities of how he and those from the Holocaust endured. Will Sharpe is brilliant as the British tour guide James who is full of facts and such though, he is taken aback by Benji’s criticism for not being emotionally connected into the landmarks and such.
Jennifer Grey is amazing as Marcia as California divorcee who just moved back to New York as she travels to Poland to find herself as well as her own roots as she is also going through her own emotional issues in relation to her life. Jesse Eisenberg is incredible as David Kaplan as the straitlaced cousin with a wife and child who is anxious and wanting to be things on schedule where he also deals with his cousin’s behavior as well as things that he is upset about towards him. Finally, there’s Kieran Culkin in a phenomenal performance as Benji Kaplan as a free-spirited slacker who has no filter in what he says while is also someone with some issues. Eisenberg and Culkin together are a joy to watch as they bring a lot of chemistry as these two mismatched cousins who deal with each other as well as why they are not as close as they used to be.
A Real Pain is a sensational film by Jesse Eisenberg that features great performances from Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin. Along with its ensemble cast, usage of Frederic Chopin’s piano pieces, gorgeous imagery, and study of two men going on a journey to honor their grandmother. The film is a funny as well as heartfelt story about two cousins who try to reconnect despite their differences by going to Poland to learn about themselves and their late grandmother. In the end, A Real Pain is a phenomenal film by Jesse Eisenberg.
© thevoid99 2025
Based on the historical picture book by James Haskins, The Cotton Club is the story of a musician who finds himself falling for a mobster’s girlfriend where he gets himself into trouble during the era of Prohibition. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and screenplay by Coppola and William Kennedy from a story by Coppola, Kennedy, and Mario Puzo, the film is a stylish gangster-musical film of sorts as it is set largely in this nightclub. Starring Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee, Bob Hoskins, James Remar, Nicolas Cage, Allen Garfield, Laurence Fishburne, Gwen Verdon, and Fred Gwynne. The Cotton Club is a lavish yet incoherent film from Francis Ford Coppola.
Told in the span of the final years of the famed gangster Dutch Schultz (James Remar), the film follows a coronet player who falls for Schultz’s teenaged girlfriend as he’s given a job to protect her after saving him from an assassination attempt where things eventually become complicated. The film doesn’t just explore the life of this cornet player who is love with this young woman but also a tap dancer who is trying to pursue a singer who sings at the titular club that feature a lot of African-American singers, musicians, and dancers yet they can’t be at the club as audience members. The film’s screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and William Kennedy want to showcase this world that is the center of the gangster world in New York City. Yet, there’s so many characters in the story including real-life gangsters as it eventually becomes messy to understand what is going on and what it wants to be.
There’s this love story where the cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere) pursuing Schultz’s girlfriend Vera (Diane Lane) as well as the story of his tap-dancing friend Sandman (Gregory Hines) trying to woo the mixed-race singer Lila Rose Oliver (Lonette McKee). The narrative would move back-and-forth into these storylines as well as Schultz’s activity in the world of crime as he would find himself becoming a rival of Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins) and his right-hand man Frenchy (Fred Gwynne). Madden owns the Cotton Club which would have Schultz later form a rival club yet they would use Harlem as the place of conflict with some of Schultz’s men including Dixie’s brother Vincent (Nicolas Cage) getting into trouble with some of the locals including Bumpy Rhodes (Laurence Fishburne) who decides to fight back. It all takes place in the span of a few years as the script wouldn’t just try to be this romantic-gangster drama with elements of musical performances. Its major drawback is that blend of genres as well as dialogue that isn’t strong and characters that aren’t engaging enough.
Coppola’s direction is definitely stylish in terms of its presentation of the film as it has elements of old Hollywood and these lavish musical numbers with intricate choreography by Henry LeTang. Shot largely in New York City with its interiors shot at the Astoria studio in the city, the film does play into this high-octane world of New York City gangster life during the days of Prohibition. Coppola would use wide shots to get a scope of the locations in its exteriors as well as the performances that include tap dance numbers, choirgirl dances, and all sorts of things that was prevalent during the days of Prohibition. Much of the direction that Coppola aims for is style in its usage of slanted camera angles, close-ups, and medium shots to capture the atmosphere of the clubs. Even as the moments of violence are intense such as this dramatic re-creation of Vincent leading an assassination on one of Schultz’s men where some children are killed. It’s among some of the key moments in the film where it manages to overcome many of the script’s shortcomings including an argument scene involving Madden and Frenchy as it’s presented in a very simple yet direct medium shot.
For all of the lavishness, stylish musical numbers, and homage to the gangster films of the time, Coppola unfortunately doesn’t find a center into the film as much of its centerpiece takes place in the titular club. Rarely, the characters of Dixie and Sandman would interact as the script never establishes more of their friendship in favor of their respective romantic pursuits. The direction is all over the place where it messes up much of the film’s tone as it would be one genre and then go into something else. Even the film’s ending which mixes fantasy and reality of what happens to the characters wants to be this traditional Hollywood ending but the result is extremely messy as Coppola tried to end it with a sense of style. Overall, Coppola creates an extravagantly rich but inconsistently tonal film about life at a club during the days of Prohibition.
Cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its stylish approach to lighting for some of the musical performances as well as the look of the exteriors set at night. Editors Barry Malkin and Robert Q. Lovett do excellent work with the editing as it is stylish with its usage of dissolves and transition wipes to play into the film’s frenetic style. Production designer Richard Sylbert, with set decorators Leslie Bloom and George Gaines plus art director Gregory Bolton and David Chapman, does amazing work with the look of the nightclubs in all of its lavish form as well as the backstage areas and the places the characters would go to.
Costume designer Milena Canonero does incredible work with the costumes as it is a highlight of the film in the lavish dresses and costumes the women wear including the colored suits of the male performances in the musical numbers. Sound editor Edward Beyer does superb work with the sound with the way music sounds on location as well as the sounds of gunfire and other violent moments in the film. The film’s music by John Barry is fantastic for its orchestral-jazz based score that play into the period of the time with elements of blues music while music consultant Jerry Wexler would provide a soundtrack that feature many of the standards of the time that are performed by the actors in the film including Richard Gere playing his own cornet solos.
The casting by Lois Blanco and Gretchen Rennell is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Mario Van Peebles as a dancer at the Cotton Club, Mark Margolis as an assassin late in the film, Sofia Coppola as a young girl trying to sell Vince an apple, Giancarlo Esposito as one of Bumby’s hoods, Bill Cobbs as a veteran gangster in Big Joe Ison, Woody Strode as a Harlem veteran who advises Bumpy, Larry Marshall as the famed performer Cab Calloway, Rosalind Harris as the famed actress Fanny Brice, Jennifer Grey as Vince’s girlfriend Patsy, Tom Waits as the Cotton Club manager Irving Starck, Diane Venora as the actress Gloria Swanson who sees Dixie as a future film star, Lisa Jane Persky as Schultz’s girlfriend Frances Flegenheimer, Maurice Hines as Sandman’s brother Clay who would perform with Sandman as part of a tap duo, Julian Beck as Schultz’s advisor Sol Weinstein, Allen Garfield as Schultz’s accountant Otto Biederman, Joe Dalessandro as Lucky Luciano, and Gwen Verdon as Dixie and Vince’s mother Tish Dwyer who knew Madden who always liked her.
Fred Gwynne is terrific as Frenchy as Madden’s right-hand man who looks menacing yet is also calm unless he gets really angry while Bob Hoskins is superb as Owney Madden as the revered gangster that knows what to do and get things done but is also a man that has some morals where he tries to help out whoever he can. Nicolas Cage is fantastic as Vince Dwyer as Dixie’s brother who is trying to be a gangster working for Schultz only to get carried away to the point that he becomes trouble for everyone. Laurence Fishburne is brilliant as Bumpy Rhodes as a Harlem gangster who has had it with Vince and Schultz’s antics as he decides to fight back and get some rights for his people. James Remar’s performance as Dutch Schultz definitely has the ferocity and anger of Schultz but it also borders into parody at times where it’s a mixed bag overall as Remar isn’t given more to do but be angry and jealous for most of the film and rarely display any kind of sensitivity.
Lonette McKee is good as Lila Rose Oliver as a singer who is fascinated by Sandman but is keen on wanting to do other things as she is able to get opportunities that other women couldn’t get as she’s half-black, half-white as McKee’s performance is wonderful but very underwritten. Gregory Hines is excellent as Sandman as a tap dancer that is eager to perform at the Cotton Club and win over Lila as it’s definitely the best performance of the film where Hines is someone that is just trying to make it as he later copes with the chaos that is happening in Harlem as well as the prejudice he endures. Diane Lane is alright as Vera as Schultz’s teenaged mistress who wants to run a club as it’s a performance that has charm but not a lot of substance as her character doesn’t really do much but be pretty and be the object of affection. Finally, there’s Richard Gere in a decent performance as Dixie Dwyer as he does display a sense of charm while being a capable musician. It’s just that his character is also messy where he can be the nice and smooth talker one minute and then be an asshole the next minute as it’s just a messy performance from Gere.
The Cotton Club is an entertaining but extremely messy film from Francis Ford Coppola. Despite its gorgeous visuals, lavish production values, terrific supporting performances, and an enjoyable music score/soundtrack, it’s a film that had all of the right ideas on paper but doesn’t mesh well in terms of its execution. Notably as it tried to be so many things in one entire film only to have a lot of tonal issues as well as being more style over substance. In the end, The Cotton Club is a worthwhile but incoherent film from Francis Ford Coppola.
Francis Ford Coppola Films: (Tonight for Sure) – (The Bellboy and the Playgirls) – Dementia 13 - (You’re a Big Boy Now) – (Finian’s Rainbow) – (The Rain People) – The Godfather - The Conversation - The Godfather Pt. II - Apocalypse Now/Apocalyse Now Redux - One from the Heart - The Outsiders – Rumble Fish - (Peggy Sue Got Married) – (Garden of Stone) – (Tucker: The Man & His Dreams) – New York Stories-Life Without Zoe - The Godfather Pt. III - Bram Stoker's Dracula - (Jack) – (The Rainmaker) – (Youth Without Youth) – Tetro - (Twixt)
© thevoid99 2018
