Behemoth! arrives with the kind of pedigree that instantly raises expectations, and by all accounts it earns them. In this Behemoth! review, the New York Film Festival premiere emerges as a richly layered drama that blends Hollywood craft, family wounds and the emotional power of film music into one of the year’s most intriguing big-screen experiences.
Tony Gilroy returns to feature directing for the first time in more than a decade with a story that feels both intimate and ambitious. Best known in recent years for television triumphs like Andor, Gilroy uses Behemoth! to shift his attention to a different kind of backstage world: the musicians who give movies their pulse. The result is a character study anchored by Pedro Pascal, supported by an impressive ensemble, and elevated by a score assembled from a remarkable collective of composers.
Behemoth! review: a soulful drama set inside Hollywood’s music machine
At its core, Behemoth! follows Alex Serian, a lifelong cellist played by Pedro Pascal. Alex comes from a family deeply tied to professional music, yet that inheritance feels less like a gift and more like a burden he has spent years carrying from one city to the next. He is talented, seasoned and respected, but emotionally adrift.
When Alex returns to Los Angeles after years on the road, he steps back into recording sessions for film scores while confronting unresolved family tensions. His mother’s declining health, his complicated bond with his father and brother, and a lingering question about a gifted teenage musician all pull him into a reckoning with the life he has built.
That premise gives Gilroy plenty to explore:
- The hidden labor of session musicians in Hollywood
- The cost of artistic devotion on family life
- The instability of a life lived gig to gig
- The way music can connect memory, grief and identity
Rather than delivering a conventional backstage drama, the film reportedly unfolds in a non-linear structure, moving through flashbacks, romantic entanglements and career moments that gradually reveal who Alex really is.
Pedro Pascal leads an ensemble tuned to the film’s emotional frequency
No Behemoth! review would be complete without focusing on Pedro Pascal’s performance. Alex is not written as a flashy, larger-than-life artist. Instead, he appears to be a man who has spent years suppressing pain, drifting between work and relationships, and letting music speak where words fail. That restraint seems to suit Pascal well.
Early reactions suggest he brings a quiet conviction to the role, making Alex believable as both a world-class musician and a man who has never fully found emotional footing. It is the kind of performance built on control rather than theatrics, which can be especially effective in a film so immersed in sound and silence.
The supporting cast adds range and texture throughout the story:
- Olivia Wilde reportedly leans into sharp comic energy as a former fling who refuses to stay in the past
- Eva Victor brings complexity to Nadia, a musician whose relationship with Alex leaves lasting consequences
- Alexa Swinton stands out as Viviana, the teen prodigy whose talent may reveal a deeper personal truth
- JoBeth Williams, Hank Azaria and Will Arnett flesh out Alex’s musically gifted but fractured family
This balance of drama, melancholy and lighter character beats seems to keep the film from becoming too inward or overly solemn.
The score may be the real star of Behemoth!
One of the most fascinating details in any Behemoth! review is the film’s approach to music itself. Instead of hiring a single composer, the production assembled nine major composing talents under what is described as The Behemoth! Collective. That group includes Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Henry Jackman, Nami Melumad, Brandon Roberts and Alan Silvestri.
That alone makes the project unusual, but it also fits the film’s themes. Behemoth! is not merely about one musician’s life; it is about the collaborative, often invisible artistry that shapes cinema from behind the scenes.
Why the music matters so much here:
- The film is set in recording sessions and scoring environments rarely depicted on screen
- Its emotional structure appears to be guided by recurring musical motifs
- The sound design and orchestration reportedly create an immersive theatrical experience
- The fictional song “Your God Is Sleeping” is already being singled out as a standout element
With more than 300 AFM musicians involved in the musical sequences, the movie also functions as a tribute to Los Angeles’ working music community at a time when conversations about production decline continue across the industry.
Tony Gilroy’s return to film direction feels timely
Gilroy’s films have long been associated with intelligence, moral complexity and adult storytelling. From Michael Clayton to Duplicity, he has shown a talent for building character through sharp writing and layered structure. In Behemoth!, he seems to bring those strengths into a more lyrical, emotionally fluid register.
What makes this comeback noteworthy is that the material sounds deeply specific. This is not simply another industry satire or prestige drama about genius. It is a film about the people who build a movie’s emotional world through music, often without recognition, while living lives full of instability and sacrifice.
That specificity could be the key to why Behemoth! is already drawing attention after its NYFF debut. It offers a portrait of Hollywood from an unusual angle and turns craft into character.
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Final verdict: why Behemoth! could be one of 2026’s most distinctive films
This Behemoth! review points to a film that is more than an awards-season title or festival talking point. It sounds like a rare studio-era character drama updated for modern audiences: emotionally intelligent, musically ambitious and built around a strong Pedro Pascal lead performance.
For viewers who love films about artists, creative process and complicated family legacies, Behemoth! looks especially promising. More importantly, it appears to honor a side of moviemaking that audiences hear constantly but rarely see. If early reactions hold, Behemoth! may stand as both a moving personal story and one of the most resonant tributes yet to the musicians behind the movies.
In short, this Behemoth! review suggests Tony Gilroy’s return to feature filmmaking is not just welcome, but essential viewing for anyone interested in where cinema and music meet.
