Critics split on Tony Gilroy's 'Behemoth!' after New York Film Festival premiere
Tony Gilroy's classical-music drama 'Behemoth!', starring Pedro Pascal as a cellist, premiered at the New York Film Festival. Reviews divide over its time-jumping structure and Pascal's performance.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Behemoth!, directed and written by Tony Gilroy, had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival and drew a first round of reviews on 3 October 2026. DeadlineN “which had its world premiere today at the New York Film Festival” Read at Deadline ↗ The GuardianLC “Behemoth! is screening at the New York film festival” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 2It is Gilroy's first feature as director since The Bourne Legacy in 2012, after he spent recent years creating and running the Star Wars series Andor. VarietyLC “it’s his first since “The Bourne Legacy” in 2012” Read at Variety ↗ The Hollywood ReporterLC “Tony Gilroy returns to features after 14 years’ absence” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ Mixed · 2Pedro Pascal plays Alex Serian, a cellist and former child prodigy from a musical family who returns to Los Angeles after about 20 years playing in orchestras elsewhere and takes session work recording film scores. DeadlineN “Now after 20 years he is returning to Los Angeles, getting day work on a number of movie-scoring sessions” Read at Deadline ↗ The Hollywood ReporterLC “jumping between fizzled relationships and elite orchestra positions in Boston, Dallas and Chicago” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗
Mixed · 2The story moves between present-day sessions and flashbacks to Alex's affairs, including one with a married patron's wife (Olivia Wilde) and one with violinist Nadia (Eva Victor). After Nadia's death he becomes curious whether her 15-year-old prodigy daughter Viviana (Alexa Swinton) is his child. DeadlineN “Alex begins to get a nagging feeling this girl could actually be his daughter from that long-ago relationship.” Read at Deadline ↗ IndieWireLC “a scheme the music transforms into a comic infiltration setpiece” Read at IndieWire ↗ Left · 2Its score comes from nine composers billed as The Behemoth! Collective, including Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard and Alan Silvestri. The Hollywood ReporterLC “an assembly of nine respected composers billed as “The Behemoth! Collective.”” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ The GuardianLC “a score from nine A-list composers who have banded together and called themselves The Behemoth! Collective” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 3Reviews split on the time-jumping structure. The Guardian called it a "disorienting Russian doll-like structure" that leaves the film aimless, and The Hollywood Reporter said a "fussy hopscotching time structure" halts momentum. Variety found it clever but sometimes confusing. IndieWire, /Film and Deadline praised it as purposeful or skilfully woven. The GuardianLC “a disorienting Russian doll-like structure with timeline leaps that serve little purpose” Read at The Guardian ↗ The Hollywood ReporterLC “Hampered by a fussy hopscotching time structure that too often halts the dramatic momentum” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ DeadlineN “Gilroy skillfully weaves all these vignettes in and out” Read at Deadline ↗
Left · 3Reviews also split on Pascal. /Film called it "a genuine movie star performance" and Deadline called it convincing and low-key. IndieWire praised its "unshowy" quality. The Guardian called him "a frustratingly insubstantial anchor", and The Hollywood Reporter said the character's passivity works against Pascal's warmth. /FilmN “In short, it's a genuine movie star performance.” Read at /Film ↗ The GuardianLC “Pascal is a frustratingly insubstantial anchor to the film.” Read at The Guardian ↗ The Hollywood ReporterLC “a central character whose passivity fights against the warmth and magnetism of Pedro Pascal in the role” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ Left · 3Critics broadly praised the film's depiction of Hollywood scoring sessions and noted Pascal's cello playing. Variety said Pascal learned to play, and IndieWire cited his "obvious effort" practising. Reviewers differed on Olivia Wilde's scenes, which were played as comic menace or called a scenery-chewing, one-note role. VarietyLC “He had Pedro Pascal learn to play the cello.” Read at Variety ↗ The Hollywood ReporterLC “it’s in those scenes on studio lots” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ The GuardianLC “her character seems to exist only to scream at him and look fierce” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 2Searchlight Pictures will release it in US theatres on 4 December 2026, with the UK following the same day and Australia on 3 December. IndieWireLC “Searchlight Pictures will release it in theaters on Friday, December 4.” Read at IndieWire ↗ The GuardianLC “is released in Australia on 3 December and in the US and UK on 4 December” Read at The Guardian ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left4 outlets
- Framing
- Mixed to negative reviews overall: two outlets (Guardian, THR) are largely negative, Variety is mixed, and IndieWire is positive. They focus on structure and the passive protagonist.
- Emphasis
- Time structure, character passivity, comparisons to Tár and Michael Clayton.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Less attention to the score's quality as a headline strength than the centre outlets give it.
- Charged language
- “hits all the wrong notes”“Wan Character Study”“Elevated Bauble”“Movingly Atonal”
- For example
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“Behemoth! review - Pedro Pascal classical music drama hits all the wrong notes” — The Guardian
“Wan Character Study of a Virtuoso Cellist” — The Hollywood Reporter
“This misshapen jewel of a film might seem slow to heed its own advice” — IndieWire
Centre2 outlets
- Framing
- Enthusiastic reviews that celebrate Pascal and the film as a tribute to movie music.
- Emphasis
- Pascal's performance, the score and the sound design, the supporting cast.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither mentions the structural complaints raised by Guardian, THR and Variety; /Film notes only a 'pat' ending.
- Charged language
- “Perfect Movie Star Role”“Hits All The Right Notes”“Lyrical Love Letter”“gorgeous and glorious tribute”
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Behemoth! premiered at the 2026 New York Film Festival and opens on 4 December 2026 in the US.
- Pedro Pascal plays cellist Alex Serian; Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, Will Arnett and Alexa Swinton co-star.
- The score is by nine composers billed as The Behemoth! Collective.
- It is Gilroy's first directed feature since The Bourne Legacy (2012).
- The film uses a non-linear structure of flashbacks.
Where accounts differ
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Whether the non-linear structure works
- Left
- The Guardian and THR say it stalls or confuses; Variety finds it fun but confusing; IndieWire calls it rewarding.
- Centre
- /Film and Deadline praise the weaving of flashbacks and music.
-
Whether Pascal's performance carries the film
- Left
- The Guardian calls him insubstantial and THR says the role is too passive; IndieWire and Variety are more favourable.
- Centre
- /Film calls it his best role; Deadline calls it convincing.
-
The film's non-linear, time-jumping structure undermines the drama rather than enriching it.
Mixed- Supports 3
- The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
- Disputes 3
- IndieWire, /Film, Deadline
-
Pedro Pascal's performance as Alex is a strength of the film.
Supported- Supports 3
- IndieWire, /Film, Deadline
- Disputes 1
- The Hollywood Reporter
- Earlier 1
- The Guardian
-
The film's score was written by nine composers billed as The Behemoth! Collective.
Reported- Reports 4
- The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline
Pedro Pascal person
Critics' view of his performance runs from 'a genuine movie star performance' to 'frustratingly insubstantial'; several note he learned to play the cello.
“it's a genuine movie star performance” — /Film
“Pascal is a frustratingly insubstantial anchor to the film.” — The Guardian
Tony Gilroy person
Reviewers treat him as returning to features after 14 years; they credit his craft or fault his structure and gimmicks.
“it is good to see his rare sophisticated storytelling back on the big screen” — Deadline
“Gilroy’s film doesn’t have the juice to pull it off.” — The Guardian
Left4 articles
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The Hollywood ReporterLC · · Opinion
Critical Calls it hard to love despite good scoring-stage sequences and craft.
-
VarietyLC · · Opinion
Mixed Admires the authentic musical milieu and playful form but says it lacks a subject, and finds the chronology confusing.
-
The GuardianLC · · Opinion
Behemoth! review - Pedro Pascal classical music drama hits all the wrong notes
Critical Dismisses the film as aimless and gimmicky, with an insubstantial Pascal.
-
IndieWireLC · · Opinion
Sympathetic Reads the fragmented structure as deliberate and rewarding, building to an affecting finale.
Centre2 articles
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 3 Oct 01:00 First VarietyLC ‘Behemoth!’ Review: Pedro Pascal Is a Classical Cellist Skating Through a Midlife Crisis in Tony Gilroy’s Elevated Bauble of a Music Drama Opinion
- 3 Oct 01:00 +1m The GuardianLC Behemoth! review - Pedro Pascal classical music drama hits all the wrong notes Opinion
- 3 Oct 01:06 +6m IndieWireLC ‘Behemoth!’ Review: Pedro Pascal Plays a Wayward Cellist in Tony Gilroy’s Movingly Atonal Character Study About How People Conduct Themselves Opinion
- 3 Oct 01:06 +6m The Hollywood ReporterLC ‘Behemoth!’ Review: Pedro Pascal Hints at Soulful Depths, but the Drama Keeps Stalling in Tony Gilroy’s Wan Character Study of a Virtuoso Cellist Opinion
- 3 Oct 01:14 +14m /FilmN Behemoth! Review: Pedro Pascal Finally Finds His Perfect Movie Star Role In Tony Gilroy's Virtuoso Drama [NYFF] Opinion
- 3 Oct 01:20 +20m DeadlineN ‘Behemoth!’ Review: Pedro Pascal Hits All The Right Notes In Tony Gilroy’s Lyrical Love Letter To The Music Of The Movies – New York Film Festival Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.