Tony Gilroy’s new music drama premiered at the New York Film Festival with Pedro Pascal playing a celebrated cellist whose fractured past unfolds through music and memory.
Pedro Pascal stars as Alex Serian in the new film Behemoth!, a character study that delves into music and personal relationships. The movie is directed by Tony Gilroy, known for his work on the Star Wars series Andor and the legal thriller Michael Clayton. Alex returns to Los Angeles to care for his sick mother after 20 years on the road as a gifted cellist.
Behemoth! premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 2. He takes a less prestigious job as a studio musician working on film scores while navigating his complicated past, according to decider.com. The film’s structure is non-linear; it shifts between different times and locations using subtle visual cues like weather and signage.
This approach makes it hard to immediately understand who Alex truly is even as details about his life come into focus over time. Pascal’s performance brings depth to the character especially in scenes where he listens to music according to a report from TheWrap. One standout moment shows Pascal’s eyes filled with wonder as a young piano prodigy plays a song for her late mother.
The film uses music not just as background but as a key storytelling device that connects scenes and emotions. The score features contributions from several composers including James Newton Howard and Michael Giacchino. Despite its musical strengths the film fails to fully develop Alex’s emotional journey or give him a clear motivation.
Alex’s ex-girlfriend Carol is played by Olivia Wilde and is a major presence in the story but remains underused and one-dimensional. Wilde’s performance earns laughs but never evolves beyond a comedic archetype of an angry ex. Eva Victor appears in only a few scenes as Nadia and brings warmth to her brief moments on screen as another former lover of Alex’s.
Victor’s character offers some insight into how Alex relates to others but the film never explores that further. The movie’s pacing is slow and often meanders without building toward a clear emotional climax. One major issue is how the film introduces ideas that could be explored more deeply but are left underdeveloped.
The death of a key character halfway through the film is not given enough emotional weight to resonate with audiences. Pascal’s ability to convey emotion through small gestures and facial expressions is one of the film’s strongest assets. However the lack of strong dramatic beats leaves viewers emotionally distant from Alex’s internal struggles.
The film’s narrative structure often feels like a series of disconnected encounters rather than a cohesive character arc.
Despite its musical brilliance and Pascal’s compelling performance Behemoth! lacks the emotional payoff needed to make it truly memorable. The movie will be available in limited theaters starting Friday on December 4 2026. It is a film that recognizes music as a language of its own — one that sometimes transcends words and speaks directly to the heart.
Yet it struggles to use that language effectively in telling Alex’s story.
IMAGE: Pedro Pascal speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia, taken 2017-07-20, CC BY-SA 3.0