A Cellist Comes Home to Los Angeles, Pedro Pascal Brings Behemoth! to AFI Fest

Pedro Pascal will take questions at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Friday, October 23, after AFI Fest screens Behemoth!, the Tony Gilroy drama in which he plays a cellist who comes home to Los Angeles.

The screening starts at 6:25 p.m. in Chinese 1, and the AFI Fest film page says a conversation follows. Gilroy, who wrote, directed and produced the film, leads it with Pascal, actor Kaya Ralls, producer and editor John Gilroy, and composers Emily Bear, Brandon Roberts and Nami Melumad. The film is one of the special screenings at the festival’s 40th edition on Hollywood Boulevard, which runs October 21 to 25.

What Behemoth! Is About

Pascal plays Alex Serian, a gifted cellist and former child prodigy who returns to Los Angeles after two decades on the road. AFI’s synopsis has him walking away from a Chicago orchestra and going back to familiar work, recording Hollywood film scores, while his inner demons, a complicated family history and the unfinished business he left behind all follow him home. Searchlight Pictures, which releases the film, puts it this way. “Music, which has been the constant, all-consuming river of his life, swells into an adventure that will change him forever.”

The story is told out of order. SlashFilm’s review describes a film that opens in the present day, as Alex reunites with old musician friends, and spends much of its running time in flashbacks that are stitched together by music cues and the memories they stir. Most of the present-day action turns on a single recording session for a film score.

Who Is in It

Will Arnett plays Andy, the brother Alex is half estranged from, and Kaya Ralls plays Bronte, a young musician Alex takes under his wing, according to SlashFilm. Olivia Wilde plays Carol, a woman from his recent past, and Eva Victor plays Nadia, an old flame. Searchlight’s cast list also includes Alexa Swinton, Erik Griffin, JoBeth Williams, Margarita Levieva and Hank Azaria.

Who Made It

Gilroy wrote and directed Behemoth! and produced it with Sanne Wohlenberg and John Gilroy, who also edited it. Gilroy directed Michael Clayton, Duplicity and The Bourne Legacy, wrote the first three Bourne films and Rogue One, and worked on the Disney+ series Andor, as Screen Daily noted.

The score belongs to the story as much as the cello does. AFI credits the music to the Behemoth! Collective, nine film composers made up of Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Henry Jackman, Nami Melumad, Brandon Roberts and Alan Silvestri. Their cues stand in for the fictional film Alex’s orchestra is recording, and SlashFilm singled out one chase track that recalls the Bourne films. AFI calls the whole thing “a love letter to the mysterious alchemy between moving images and the music that makes us feel their emotional heft.”

How It Landed in New York

Behemoth! had its world premiere on October 2 as the Centerpiece selection of the 64th New York Film Festival, and Searchlight opens it in U.S. theaters on December 4. Reviews have split. SlashFilm critic Jeremy Mathai gave it 8.5 out of 10 and wrote of Pascal, “In short, it’s a genuine movie star performance.” He saved some of his highest praise for Wilde. “Doing entirely too much in the best possible way, Wilde is a lightning bolt of energy in every one of her scenes.” The Hollywood Reporter was cooler, with a review headline that says Pascal hints at soulful depths while the drama keeps stalling.

Why the Boulevard Fits

A film about a Los Angeles musician who scores Hollywood movies is coming home to a Hollywood movie palace. Friday’s stage puts the director, the star and three of the nine composers in the same room, six weeks before the film reaches theaters.

Tickets and Passes

AFI says its Star Pass covers every screening except the Red Carpet Premieres, and individual tickets went on sale October 3. The film page lists no prices, so check availability at fest.afi.com before heading to the boulevard.