‘Behemoth!’ Review: Pedro Pascal Plays a Wayward Cellist in Tony Gilroy’s Movingly Atonal Character Study About How People Conduct Themselves

After a hiatus from the galaxy, Tony Gilroy returns to Earth with Behemoth! , a new drama starring Pedro Pascal as Alex Serian, a concert cellist turned film score composer. Gilroy's previous characters have ranged from rebels in outer space to fixers in Michael Clayton, and even iterations of Jason Bourne. However, when discussing Behemoth! at a press conference, Gilroy revealed that he "never wrote a character quite like this before."

Pascal described his character as "a passenger in his life," but Gilroy clarified that Alex is not "passive." Throughout Behemoth!, the audience learns about Alex's career and upbringing in a non-chronological order, with characters entering and exiting his life with little notice. Gilroy expressed his fascination with Marcello Mastroianni's portrayal of a passenger who never becomes passive in his 1977 film, A Special Day.

This is what Gilroy aimed to achieve with Pascal's Alex Serian. Pascal's involvement in the project was initially uncertain, as he had to learn the cello in a short period. When informed about this, Pascal admitted he wasn't sure if he would get an A, but Gilroy called his response the "right answer." Pascal went on to say that the cello became the main character of his life for several weeks before shooting, carrying it everywhere.

Ultimately, Gilroy approved of Pascal's commitment, and Behemoth! premiered at the New York Film Festival and opened in theaters on December 4.