Teen angst central to actor’s first turn as director

Above : Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore star in “When You Finish Saving the World.” (Photo/A24)

Jesse Eisenberg is known mostly as an actor. His big break came in his fourth feature film, Noah Baumbach’s “The Squid and the Whale,” and since then has been in a range of films.

He is most noted for earning a 2011 Best Actor Oscar nomination for David Fincher’s “The Social Network,” though he has appeared in both independent and big-budget films as well.

Now he is emerging as a filmmaker as well. He wrote and directed “When You Finish Saving the World,” which is scheduled to open Friday at the Magic Lantern Theatre .

Starring Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore , the film follows a mother and son who struggle to weather the boy’s teenage years.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote, “A well acted, ironic yet sentimental portrayal of a tricky mother-son dynamic.”

Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote, “You may not particularly love these characters, but that’s no match for how little they like themselves.”

Steve Pond of TheWrap wrote, “A veritable symphony in awkward conversations; if you’re not cringing half the time, you’re not paying attention.”

A cringe-worthy movie. Just the movie for my inner teenager.