©Courtesy of A24
Jesse Eisenberg‘s third film as a director takes a sharp turn from his previous two. “When You Finish Saving the World” (2022) and “A Real Pain” (2024) were grounded in recognizable human behavior, “The Debut” throws realism out the window for the delightfully wacky and eccentric. It is quirky, entertaining and packed with laughs, and Eisenberg nails the tone, embracing the liveliness of a Broadway musical, yet taking things to dark places.
Julianne Moore plays Mona Friedman, a shy, overlooked New Jersey housewife who unexpectedly lands a small but significant role as Ms. Danielle in “Nosy Neighbors”, a community theater musical. She gets the part only because the diva originally cast in it, Broadway legend Bernadette Peters as Serena Cherry, decides it is beneath her. Jerry, the demanding director played by Paul Giamatti, is left with no choice but to hand it to a total beginner. He initially treats her badly but eventually takes her under his wing, and Giamatti is equally good in the part, bringing some of the wonderfully grumpy charm he had as the teacher in “The Holdovers” (2023). Around them is a company of local performers who treat their little show as if it were headed for Broadway, among them Halle Bailey as Stef, Colton Ryan as Zachary, Bonnie Milligan as Trish, Lilli Cooper as Shauna and Havana Rose Liu as Twisty, with Eisenberg himself popping up as fellow cast member Todd.
At first, Mona seems almost incapable of acting and singing, and her audition is a flop. Though warmly welcomed by the cast, mostly Gen Z youngsters, she is nonetheless stiff, awkward and seemingly devoid of talent. But Jerry knows how to push her buttons. By probing her insecurities and frustrations, he unlocks something in her, and the more he pushes, the more she lets go, discovering an emotional force she did not know she possessed. In one scene, Jerry provokes her during an in-character exercise in which she must demand the rent, and she almost loses it. After that she absolutely consumes the role and becomes Ms. Danielle. Moore is terrific, and she really can sing, taking Mona from timid and almost invisible to uninhibited and intense. She carries the film on her shoulders.
©Courtesy of A24
Acting offers Mona something her life has long denied her: the chance to be noticed. At home, she is defined largely by her roles as wife and mother; on stage, she can discover another version of herself. But what begins as a modest attempt to step outside her domestic life soon becomes an obsession. Jerry’s methods grow more extreme, the situations turn absurd, almost surreal, and the line between Mona and her character begins to blur. Even so, Eisenberg keeps the comedy grounded in her very human need to be seen and to find a place where she belongs.
At the center of the film is the relationship between actor and director. Jerry sees something in Mona that she cannot see in herself, and his job is to draw it out, though his methods become manipulative. He pushes her past her inhibitions, demanding that she dig into parts of herself she would rather leave untouched. Jerry needs Mona to surrender herself to the role, while Mona needs Jerry to give her permission to become someone else. But the film also asks when that process becomes something more troubling, when guiding an actor toward a performance means pushing them beyond the boundaries of their own identity.
Here, though, it is Mona who goes beyond the boundaries, taking it to a level too demanding for Jerry, who wants to keep to the written text. Mona is not only leaving her former self, but she also even leaves her home and moves into a shady hotel, and we enter an almost dreamy world. She has gone full method.
What could easily have become too whimsical works because Eisenberg keeps the characters at the center. Beneath the jokes, musical numbers and big rehearsals is a genuine affection for these oddballs, their dreams and disappointments. Moore and Giamatti fully embrace the eccentric tone, and without their Oscar-worthy performances it would have been a very different film. If there is a weakness, it is that the ensemble around them, charming as it is, gets little room to breathe next to the two leads.
Above all, the film is a love letter to the theater community and everything that comes with it, the chaos and the splendor. It is a surprisingly confident change of register, and proof that Eisenberg is not only a very talented actor, but a writer/director of high quality. He is as comfortable with heightened comedy and musical energy, blended with drama, as he is with the intimate realism of his earlier films. Eisenberg offers a wry, world-weary affection for making art, with all its thrills, risks, absurdities and moments of beauty. And he clearly had fun along the way.
©Courtesy of A24
Grade: B+
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