Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) returns to the director’s chair with Behemoth!, a music-driven drama starring Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) as Alex Serian, a gifted cellist who returns to Los Angeles after two decades on the road. As he takes on a new job scoring films and attempts to make sense of his complicated personal life, Alex is forced to confront the past and the role music has played in shaping who he is. Also starring Olivia Wilde (The Invite), Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby) and Will Arnett (Is This Thing On?), Behemoth! explores the relationship between music, memory and identity, with a stunning score and strong performances helping to bring its story to life. Unfortunately, whilst the music is often mesmerising and the cast impresses, a script that fails to give its most interesting themes enough room to breathe leaves the film disappointingly hollow and strangely told.
Unsurprisingly, the best element of a film about music is the music itself. Combining a gripping score from composer Michael Giacchino (Ratatouille) with sounds from the European Recording Orchestra, Behemoth! uses its music to bring the story to life and elevate some of its best moments. The music being composed by Pascal’s character and his fellow musicians is cleverly woven into the film we’re watching, creating a meta quality that works particularly well during some of its more thrilling sequences. It’s an interesting way of blurring the line between the music being made on screen and the film itself, making the two feel closely connected. This is helped along by some solid filmmaking elsewhere, with well-composed cinematography and nifty editing adding to the overall experience and ensuring the film remains visually engaging alongside its impressive soundtrack. Fans of classical music and film scores are in for a treat, as Behemoth! is an absolute delight on an auditory level.
Everything is put together pretty nicely here, apart from the most important aspect – the story. Behemoth! introduces some really solid ideas through Pascal’s troubled character including grief, loss, family legacy and other weighty themes that teeter on the edge of something genuinely compelling. Unfortunately, the story itself is an absolute mess, with its most intriguing elements pushed into the latter stages of the film, leaving them with very little time to develop properly. The narrative chooses to meander through less interesting beats, leaving the grittier material that audiences could really sink their teeth into frustratingly underdeveloped. The exploration of grief is a particularly disappointing example, as the character whose death has such a profound impact on Alex is given so little screen time that it’s difficult to form much of a connection with them. As a result, the relationship between the two lacks the emotional weight needed to make Alex’s struggles truly resonate. There are some genuinely interesting ideas here, but they’re so messily pieced together that it becomes difficult to attach yourself to any of them. For a film with so much potential beneath the surface, it’s frustrating to see its strongest material get so little attention.
The performances are also a mixed bag, although Pedro Pascal proves once again why he’s such a compelling leading man. There’s plenty of nuance to his portrayal, and he handles the emotional weight of his character with ease, drawing you in even when the script struggles to make you feel particularly connected to Alex. He really is the heart of the film, doing much of the heavy lifting when it comes to making its more personal moments work. Elsewhere, the supporting cast is a bit more hit and miss. Wilde gives a solid performance yet her character is so unlikeable, and her comedic moments are so at odds with the rest of the film that every scene involving her feels strangely jarring. Victor is also good, although she’s given frustratingly little screen time to really make her mark, whilst Hank Azaria (Heat) is massively underused as well. Arnett does what he does best, but his character’s arc takes a turn that makes him increasingly irritating to watch. The biggest surprise, however, is Alexa Swinton (Thunderbolts*) as Viviana. Despite being largely sidelined until the film’s final minutes, she makes a real impression in a role that ultimately proves far more important than its limited screen time would suggest. Swinton manages to leave a lasting mark in very little time, and she’s certainly one to watch.
Behemoth! is a frustrating watch, with a fascinating premise and some excellent filmmaking let down by a story that never quite comes together. The musical score is a real highlight, whilst Pascal delivers a terrific central performance that gives the film plenty of emotional weight. Unfortunately, its most interesting themes are never explored with the depth they deserve, leaving what could have been a genuinely moving story feeling strangely hollow. There’s enough here to admire, particularly on a technical level, but Behemoth! ultimately struggles to reach its considerable potential.
