“The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” - Elon Musk, Feb. 28, 2025

"In my work with the defendants (at the Nuremberg Trails 1945-1949), I was searching for the nature of evil and I now think I have come close to defining it. A lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants, a genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow men." - Captain Gustave Gilbert, US army psychologist assigned to observe the Nazi defendants at the Nuremberg trials.

Any movie that inspires me to write, that reminds me of the pure essence attainable within the human experience, that leaves me thinking about all of the people I know and love but scarcely know and love—this is a movie I will recommend. This is A Real Pain.

If you liked this adaptation, read the book. If you already did and you still like it, don’t read any more of my reviews. We don’t have the same taste in film at all.