A24 Drops ‘The Debut' Trailer: Julianne Moore Goes Gloriously Off the Rails in Jesse Eisenberg's Surreal Comedy

A24 has released a new trailer for Jesse Eisenberg's "The Debut," which opens in limited release on December 11 before going nationwide on Christmas Day.

I saw the film back in September. It's a lot of fun, and Julianne Moore is the reason to see it. The second-best reason is Paul Giamatti.

Moore plays Mona, a shy New Jersey housewife who stumbles into a community theater production after the local star drops out. She ends up under the wing of Giamatti's Jerry, "the biggest name in New Jersey community theater," a tyrant the rest of the cast treats like a god. What starts as a backstage comedy slowly turns into an unhinged psychological spiral.

What surprised me most is just how strange the film gets. "The Debut" is a surreal nightmare of a comedy. None of it is meant to be plausible, and that's the point: the further Mona sinks into the play, the more the movie turns into a nightmare.

Eisenberg isn't interested in realism here; the absurdities are deliberate. And no, it's not really a musical, even if Eisenberg wrote the songs for the show-within-the-show. It's a comedy about making one. Of course, Moore carries the film. She goes wildly, gloriously off the rails, and it's some of her best work in years. If A24 has an acting win in its sights, she's the one to bet on. Giamatti is a blast as Jerry as well.

The ensemble also includes Halle Bailey, Havana Rose Liu, Colton Ryan, Lilli Cooper, Maulik Pancholy, and Bernadette Peters, with Eisenberg in a small role as one of the actors. Drew Daniels shot it, and Emil Mosseri composed the score.

This is Eisenberg's third feature as a director, after "When You Finish Saving the World" and "A Real Pain," which won Kieran Culkin the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. "The Debut" should be back in the Oscar race, particularly for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture.