Behemoth!
Tickets
On sale viff.org
About
Canadian Premiere
Pedro Pascal is Alex, a professional cellist who quits the Chicago Symphony and moves back to LA to look after his ailing mom. Or so he says — in truth he’s escaping his latest conquest (a scary Olivia Wilde). While Alex can make a decent living as a session musician, he should be doing more with his talent. But he’s also lugging around emotional baggage which needs to be unpacked.
At 69, Oscar-nominated writer-director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton; Andor) has the clout to make something personal. Behemoth! is both grandiose and introspective: a novelistic character study shuffling back and forth across 15 years or so in the life of its protagonist. Gilroy (whose father was a playwright and filmmaker) was wise to make Alex a musician, and the numerous, impressive performance sequences evoke a certain gravitas. None of which is to suggest that Behemoth! isn’t also shot through with humour and suspense, but ultimately this is a sophisticated, ruminative piece about inheritance and connection, stamped with Pascal’s characteristic charm and grace.
Pedro Pascal is Alex, a professional cellist who quits the Chicago Symphony and moves back to LA to look after his ailing mom. Or so he says — in truth he’s escaping his latest conquest (a scary Olivia Wilde). While Alex can make a decent living as a session musician, he should be doing more with his talent. But he’s also lugging around emotional baggage which needs to be unpacked.
At 69, Oscar-nominated writer-director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton; Andor) has the clout to make something personal. Behemoth! is both grandiose and introspective: a novelistic character study shuffling back and forth across 15 years or so in the life of its protagonist. Gilroy (whose father was a playwright and filmmaker) was wise to make Alex a musician, and the numerous, impressive performance sequences evoke a certain gravitas. None of which is to suggest that Behemoth! isn’t also shot through with humour and suspense, but ultimately this is a sophisticated, ruminative piece about inheritance and connection, stamped with Pascal’s characteristic charm and grace.
