THE DEBUT (2026): Julianne Moore is Destined to Be Oscar-Bound in This New A24 Dramatic Comedy

Julianne Moore Could Win Her Second Oscar

Julianne Moore is said to be great and, perhaps, even Oscar-worthy in her lead role in the new A24 film, The Debut, from director Jesse Eisenberg.

With its recent Telluride Film Festival unveiling, critics have been left spellbound by Academy Award winner, Julianne Moore, in the new film, The Debut. Moore is no stranger to giving excellent performances, but there’s something particularly noteworthy about the actress’s new role in this film. Almost anyone familiar with her work will remember that Moore hit it out of the park, playing a housewife in the unforgettable 2002 film, The Hours. She’s had time to perfect that type of role and in The Debut, she makes her character, Mona Friedman, one for the record books, according to the majority of critics who screened the film at Telluride.

When this year seemed like it was scarce for great women’s roles, here comes Moore in filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain)’s latest. Eisenberg and Moore worked together on a film that I thought Moore would have gotten an Oscar nod for, When You Finish Saving the World. Sadly, that film was barely released and didn’t get the buzz it needed to land Moore a nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Luckily, the same fate won’t await The Debut and Moore’s said-to-be stellar work in it.

Paul Giamatti, Eisenberg, himself, and Bernadette Peters are also featured in The Debut, which FilmBook will be reviewing at the 64th annual New York Film Festival later this month. Moore plays a housewife, who takes on a role in a community theater musical production in the Eisenberg-helmed picture. Giamatti plays New Jersey stage director, Jerry, and expect Giamatti to fight his way towards a potential Oscar nomination this year, himself. However, Moore may already want to start clearing off her mantelpiece for another Academy Award to add to the other one she won, if the critical viewpoints expressed at Telluride are, indeed, correct.

Moore’s best work before The Debut was in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights and Magnolia, which were roles that she lost out on getting an Academy Award for. In Still Alice, Moore finally took home the coveted Oscar for her third-best career performance at the time. Alzheimer’s was a difficult concept to portray on-screen, and Moore achieved greatness in a career-defining lead role. However, The Debut, seems to be her career-crowning moment.

Julianne Moore portraying an obsessive housewife in a theatrical stage production already sounds like an Academy Award-winning role for her, in and of itself, and alongside the fact that Natalie Portman won the Oscar for playing an obsessive, dedicated artist (a dancer), it seems that Moore is likely to also bring home the gold for her work in what is said to be Eisenberg’s best and most mature work to date. Keep an eye out for my detailed review of The Debut at this year’s New York Film Festival.

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