‘The Debut’ Explodes at Telluride With Julianne Moore’s Gonzo, Career-Best Turn, Thanks to a Toolbelt, Unlit Cigarettes and a Faux Musical

By Clayton Davis

Clayton Davis

Chief Awards Editor

Latest

• ‘The Debut’ Explodes at Telluride With Julianne Moore’s Gonzo, Career-Best Turn, Thanks to a Toolbelt, Unlit Cigarettes and a Faux Musical 35 minutes ago
• Three Films, and a Second Oscar? How Penélope Cruz Could Dominate Awards Season With ‘La Bola Negra,’ ‘The Invite’ and ‘Bunker’ 3 hours ago
• Hey, Oscars: No Sympathy Required to Give Mike Leigh’s ‘Tender Loving Care’ the Consideration It Deserves 4 hours ago

Jesse Eisenberg has made his most significant debut to date.

There is a delicious irony at the center of “The Debut,” Eisenberg’s third feature as a director, which world premiered at the Telluride Film Festival: it is a film about a nobody who attacks a bit part as if it were the role of a lifetime — and it arrives as one of the fall’s genuine best picture contenders, ready to make Oscar darlings out of Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti.

Related Stories

'Everest: The Other Side' Review: The 'Free Solo' Directors Return With Another Extreme Sports Doc, This Time Tainted by Tragedy