Jesse Eisenerg used Chopin to stop 'A Real Pain' from feeling "juvenile".
Jesse Eisenberg wanted A Real Pain to feel sophisticated
The 41-year-old star - who wrotre and directed the movie as well as starring in it opposite Kieran Culkin - was keen for the Holocaust-history comedy/drama to feel "sophisticated" and mature, despite the "funny and fraught" relationship at the centre of the story so opted to score the film almost entirely with piano pieces by the Polish composer.
He explained to The Hollywood Reporter: "As I was writing 'A Real Pain', it was focused on this funny and fraught relationship between these two guys that were trying to connect to their past relationship, and in many ways, they became children around each other.
“And I wanted the tone of the movie, very specifically, to not be juvenile. I wanted the tone of the movie to be a commentary on these characters falling into old patterns against the backdrop of historical trauma. I wanted the movie to have a sophisticated, traditional, mature look and feel to it.
“I was just listening to all these pieces [while writing the script], and a lot of times they were inspiring me for what the scene should be.
“I’m sitting at the library writing, and it’s just playing on an entire loop for hours in my head, and then I’m playing it when I’m putting my kid to sleep, and I’m playing it as I get ready in the morning, because I’m trying to put myself in the spirit of that kind of emotion.”
But Jesse admitted producers tried to encourage him to branch out with the soundtrack so as to not put off a younger audience, but he stood by his decision, even if it was a "risk".
He said: “While we were editing the movie, some producers were getting a little nervous about the accessibility of this movie for young people, and I was encouraged to explore more pop music on the soundtrack.
“My argument was always, ‘This was in the script. This is what we all had agreed upon, so why change it now? Let’s take this risk. It’s not overwhelming. The music is not jarring in any way. Let’s commit to what this is.’ ”
However, a cover of Slim Smith's reggae song 'My Conversation' - which Benji (Culkin) listens to in the shower - is on the soundtrack but Jesse wishes it hadn't been chosen for the end credits.
He said: “My editor, Rob Nassau, who’s great, he just felt like the movie could use a little bit of lightness there.
“In retrospect, I probably would have kept it with Chopin.”
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