Jesse Eisenberg’s ‘The Debut’ Raved at Telluride! Julianne Moore “Astonishing” Performance in Best Picture Contender

A few days ago I mentioned that, so far, the two major best actress frontrunners were Inde Navarratte (“Obsession”) and — despite not having had her film premiere yet — Julianne Moore (“The Debut”).

The Oscar buzz about Moore in Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut” seems to be legit. The film has taken over the Telluride Film Festival — it’s the sensation of the fest. A best picture contender, they say. Julianne Moore is a best actress frontrunner. Paul Giamatti might win his first Oscar for supporting actor.

This is Eisenberg’s third feature as a director, following “When You Finish Saving the World” and “A Real Pain.” He also wrote the script, which includes seven original songs. Moore, one of our best actresses, already has one Oscar, for “Still Alice,” and she might get another statuette here.

Variety says Moore is “astonishing,“ Vulture describes her performance as “an all-timer.” The Playlist raves she’s “transformative.” It currently sits at 90 on Metacritic.

Moore plays 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. He was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and will probably get another nod for his script with this film.

A24 is next positioning “The Debut” for 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.