A few days ago I mentioned that, so far, the two major best actress frontrunners are Inde Navarratte (“Obsession”) and — despite not having premiered yet — Julianne Moore (“The Debut”).
We can now confirm the intel about Moore in Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut” is legit. The film has taken over the Telluride Film Festival. It’s a best picture contender. Julianne Moore is a best actress frontrunner. Paul Giamatti might win his first Oscar for as supporting actor.
This is Eisenberg’s third feature as a director, following “When You Finish Saving the World” and “A Real Pain.” Eisenberg also wrote the script, which includes seven original songs.
Moore has already one Oscar, for “Still Alice,” and she might not get another. Variety says Moore is “astonishing,“ Vulture describes her performance as “an all-timer.” The Playlist raves she’s “transformative.” More reactions to come …
Moore playe a painfully awkward housewife who has to learn how to act for a musical, and then gets way too into it. Giamatti is the director trying to make it all work, but she keeps literalizing everything, and the film soon becomes a weird, dark, comedic spiral about acting, delusion, and community theater freaks.
The film has been described as Woody Allen’s “Black Swan,” but “for apartment building theater people.” Drew Daniels serves as cinematographer. He previously shot Sean Baker’s last two films, “Anora” and “Red Rocket.” Emil Mosseri (“Minari”) composed the score.
Eisenberg is coming off the success of “A Real Pain,” released in 2024, which earned widespread acclaim and an Oscar for supporting actor Kieran Culkin. Eisenberg was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
A24 is next positioning the film for a the Toronto International Film Festival. Then New York and BFI London. An Oscar campaign will likely be mounted for all key players involved. A December 11 release has been set.
As it starts, we might suspect we’ve seen this type of story before. But The Debut grows to become something altogether wilder, a fire-breathing encomium to the reality-altering power of acting.
Jesse Eisenberg's THE DEBUT is all kinds of wonderful. A sweet, sometimes surprisingly trippy tale of finding your voice and place in the world through art. There is one scene where the crowd went WILD for Julianne Moore. (I did too.) Adored & adored & adored it.
Jesse Eisenberg wisely, even movingly builds THE DEBUT around witnessing just how far Julianne Moore can go in a role with no guardrails and deep emotional texture. A monumental performance.
THE DEBUT is a pure and utter delight from beginning to end. Jesse Eisenberg continues to level up as a director, taking big swings while getting phenomenal performances out of his actors. Julianne Moore is flat out amazing as a naive, perky, blissful woman who is wearing a mask through her sad life (There’s one scene where she deservedly got a huge applause from the Telluride audience). And Giamatti is splendid as the tough but encouraging theater director who pushes Moore’s character to redefine herself, even if she takes things too far. A total joy of a film celebrating the theater community, working through anxiety, and the indescribable feeling of losing yourself on stage. Wonderful comedic editing, charming songs from Eisenberg, and a playful score from Emile Mosser.
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