Tony Gilroy makes his long-awaited return to feature filmmaking after 14 years with Behemoth!, a drama that proves alternately intriguing and frustrating. The director, who spent the last three years as creator and showrunner of Andor, delivers a film hampered by a convoluted time structure and a protagonist whose passivity struggles against Pedro Pascal’s natural warmth.
A Story of Family Shadows
The film centers on Alex Serian (Pascal), a former child prodigy attempting to escape the weight of his famous family. Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, Will Arnett, and Alexa Swinton round out the ensemble cast.
Gilroy’s screenplay, unfortunately, provides insufficient depth to Pascal’s character for someone meant to anchor an entire film. Alex remains a sideliner in his own life—perhaps a consequence of growing up with narcissistic parents, but not enough to make him compelling. His failed relationships feel less like symptoms of personal damage and more like poor partner choices.
The Women Problem
The female characters fare particularly poorly in Gilroy’s script. Carol Spedding (Olivia Wilde), a wealthy married arts patron, becomes a manic stalker after Alex ends their affair, screeching “I bleed for you and you shun me?” when he blocks her calls. The character seems lifted from Fatal Attraction rather than drawn with nuance.
Where the Film Shines
What works best in Behemoth! are the sequences set on Hollywood’s scoring stages, including the Barbra Streisand Scoring Studio at Sony. These scenes pulse with energy, largely thanks to the stunning original music composed by “The Behemoth! Collective”—nine respected composers including Michael Giacchino, Alan Silvestri, and James Newton Howard.
For film lovers, contemplating the role a great score plays is fascinating. However, the movie never fully commits to celebrating film music, missing opportunities to show music being matched to specific on-screen moments.
Family Mythology Falls Short
Alex’s backstory—his parents’ need to outshine their children, his brother Andy’s (Will Arnett) rebellion into rock music, his mother’s fading battle with dementia—offers glimpses of insight but never coalesces into a fleshed-out family mythology. The supposedly chaotic upbringing that formed Alex and Andy lacks sufficient detail to give it shape.
A Late Emotional Turn
The film gains momentum when Alex discovers Viviana, the prodigiously gifted daughter of his lost love Nadia (Eva Victor), and begins sleuthing about his possible paternity. When 15-year-old Viviana (Alexa Swinton, excellent) is hired to score a major film from a temperamental Euro-diva, the movie finally finds emotional weight. But this arrives too late in a film that gives us few reasons to invest in its opaque protagonist.
Technical Merit, Emotional Void
Behemoth! is handsomely shot by Damián García, and the Dolby Atmos sound technology makes the music sequences a sensory delight. Yet in the end, the film satisfies only as a sensory experience—one where music acquires physical form—rather than as the character-driven drama it aspires to be.