Tony Gilroy makes his return to the feature film landscape after a 14-year hiatus, concluding a transformative three-year tenure as the architect of the critically acclaimed Star Wars television series Andor. His latest project, Behemoth!, serves as the centerpiece for the New York Film Festival’s main slate, marking a significant transition from the high-stakes political intrigue of the Galactic Empire to the intimate, competitive, and highly technical world of professional orchestral musicians. Despite its pedigree and a stellar ensemble cast featuring Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, and Will Arnett, the film arrives as a divisive entry in Gilroy’s filmography, struggling to reconcile its ambitious narrative structure with its protagonist’s elusive internal life.
The film is scheduled for a wide release on Friday, December 4. Clocking in at two hours and seven minutes, the production is characterized by a "hopscotching" timeline that disrupts the film’s narrative momentum. While the film is visually and aurally striking, critics have noted that it frequently prioritizes formal experimentation over character development, leaving the audience at a distance from the protagonist, Alex Serian, played by Pedro Pascal.
The Narrative Framework and Character Arc
At the heart of the film is Alex Serian, a virtuoso cellist who has spent two decades moving through elite orchestras in cities such as Boston, Dallas, and Chicago. The screenplay, penned by Gilroy—an Academy Award nominee for his work on Michael Clayton—attempts to frame Serian as a man shaped by the stifling shadow of a narcissistic, high-achieving family. His parents, Peter (Hank Azaria) and Ginnie (JoBeth Williams), are depicted as figures who viewed their children’s musical talents primarily as extensions of their own public image.
The narrative reveals the generational pressure through glimpses of a childhood marked by performance, including archival-style footage of a young Alex playing a complex cello piece on The Johnny Carson Show. This background serves to explain, if not justify, Serian’s passive demeanor. However, the film faces criticism for failing to adequately flesh out the specific dynamics of this upbringing, leaving the audience to infer the depth of the familial trauma rather than witnessing it.
The supporting cast, while capable, often falls into archetypal traps. Olivia Wilde portrays Carol Spedding, a wealthy arts patron whose volatile reaction to the end of her affair with Serian veers into melodrama. Her character’s fixation on Serian is portrayed with a intensity that draws unfavorable comparisons to classic tropes of obsessive romantic pursuit, yet the film stops short of exploring the power dynamics inherent in her financial contributions to the institutions where Serian works.
A Technical Triumph: The Scoring Stage
Where Behemoth! succeeds most unequivocally is in its depiction of the Hollywood scoring process. By setting large portions of the film on iconic soundstages, including the Barbra Streisand Scoring Studio at Sony, Gilroy offers an immersive look at a craft rarely captured with such fidelity.
The musical score is not merely background; it is a central character. The production utilized the "Behemoth! Collective," a group of nine renowned composers including Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Alan Silvestri, Henry Jackman, Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Nami Melumad, and Brandan Roberts. Their collaboration provides an auditory landscape that shifts seamlessly between dark drama, suspense, action, and romance.
The film’s reliance on Dolby Atmos sound technology enhances the sensory experience, allowing the audience to perceive the physical presence of the orchestra. Despite this, some industry observers have pointed to a missed opportunity: while the film celebrates the role of film music, it rarely depicts the technical synergy of matching music to specific frame-accurate beats on screen, leaving a gap for those who seek a deeper look into the mechanics of the trade.
Chronology and Pacing Issues
The film’s structure relies heavily on non-linear jumps, moving between Serian’s past relationships and his current professional struggles. A pivotal, albeit thin, romantic thread involves Nadia (Eva Victor), a brilliant violinist who exits Serian’s life to marry a billionaire, played by Matthew Lillard. The emotional weight of this relationship is stunted by the narrative’s pacing, as the film quickly accelerates to the funeral of the character six years later.
It is only through the introduction of Nadia’s daughter, Viviana—portrayed by Alexa Swinton—that the film gains a needed emotional anchor. The discovery of potential paternity serves as a catalyst, driving the third act toward a more focused exploration of Serian’s latent paternal instincts. The sequences involving the young composer Viviana, particularly her hiring as a replacement for a temperamental conductor, represent the film’s most resonant moments, providing a glimpse of the warmth and narrative clarity that remains elusive throughout the earlier chapters.
Production Context and Industry Implications
The production of Behemoth! represents a distinct stylistic shift for Tony Gilroy. Known for the lean, dialogue-heavy scripts of the Bourne franchise and the gritty, political realism of Andor, Gilroy’s foray into the world of classical music and prestige cinema draws inevitable comparisons to recent high-profile films like Tár and Maestro.
However, industry analysts note that Behemoth! lacks the singular focus that made those films successful. While Tár provided a deep, singular study of power and corruption, and Maestro offered a sweeping biographical arc, Behemoth! attempts to split its focus between a character study, a family drama, and an industry tribute.
The decision to cast Pedro Pascal, an actor noted for his charisma and range, in a role that requires him to be intentionally passive is a bold creative choice. Yet, for many, the "sideliner" nature of the character hinders the film’s ability to generate true dramatic stakes. As the film moves toward its conclusion, the emotional payoff feels earned only in fragments.
Critical Reception and Future Outlook
The film’s reception at the New York Film Festival reflects its status as an "odd duck"—a film that is technically proficient and intellectually intriguing but ultimately difficult to embrace. The cinematography by Damián García, a frequent collaborator of Gilroy’s on the Andor project, ensures that the film is visually stunning, maintaining a polished, professional aesthetic throughout.
For the audience, the film poses a question: can a movie about the creation of music succeed when the central figure remains largely uncomposed? The consensus suggests that while the sensory experience is undoubtedly worth the price of admission for music enthusiasts, the narrative depth required for a lasting impact remains unfulfilled.
As the film prepares for its wider release, the focus will likely remain on the "Behemoth! Collective" and the technical achievements of the production team. Whether it will find a broader audience remains to be seen, but as a piece of experimental storytelling, it serves as a testament to Gilroy’s willingness to challenge the conventions of the medium, even if the results are inconsistent. For now, Behemoth! stands as a work of immense potential, hampered by its own structural ambitions and a failure to fully connect the rhythm of its protagonist’s heart with the music he plays.
