Actor-turned-director Jesse Einsenberg’s third film, The Debut (2026), is an undeniable crowd-pleaser. The movie held its premiere screening at Telluride in early September and was recently shown as part of the Zurich Film Festival. Here, we follow Mona (Julianne Moore), a housewife made invisible in her own life by her husband and two teenagers, who gradually discovers her true voice and sense of worth on the stage of a community theater. Mona’s very late coming-of-age tale is relentlessly entertaining and bursting with inventive directing ideas, just like the cigarette she never lights up, but keeps faking to smoke throughout the film.

Eisenberg comes across as a very assured director, in total control of where he wants to lead his audience. The camera is in constant movement, zooming in to accentuate the comedic elements, while the editing is quick and dynamic, never leaving us time to catch our breath. With Julianne Moore, in a role written explicitly for her, Eisenberg found the perfect actress to match his pace. Moore totally inhabits the role and transcends every scene with a frenetic energy. The character of Mona provides her with enough tears, screams and explosive monologues to showcase her formidable range and justify all the early Oscar buzz. Overall, this makes for a thoroughly gripping and enjoyable spectacle. But just as Mona gradually morphs into a knock-off Liza Minelli in the film’s third act, The Debut falls into a caricature of itself, losing its substance to end up being “only” a spectacle.

Now, must a film be more than entertaining? Definitely not. That being said, one cannot help but recall how Eisenberg managed to strike a bittersweet gravity in his previous film, A Real Pain (2024). He succeeded in elevating the comedic bond of two cousins traveling through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother with a raw portrait of grief and isolation. Set against this standard, The Debut, behind all its laughs and extravaganza, ultimately disappoints.

Photo credits: The Debut, Zurich Film Fest promo