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Cellist's Past Haunts Him Through Movie Scores
3 Oct
Summary
- Alex Sarian, a cellist, returns to LA after 20 years.
- Movie scores trigger vivid memories of past relationships.
- The film explores reconciling self-perception with inner music.
Tony Gilroy's "Behemoth!" is a nuanced character study of Alex Sarian, a cellist returning to Los Angeles after two decades away. He becomes a session musician, and the film scores he works on unexpectedly trigger memories of past relationships and unresolved life events.
While scoring a chase scene for "Spies Don't Run," Alex recalls a clandestine night with a donor's wife. A romantic drama's waltz reminds him of an affair in Dallas, and a blockbuster score intercuts with a memory of a paternity test DNA heist.
Alex, a prodigy uncomfortable with the spotlight, habitually avoids commitment. The film explores his patterns of attraction to unavailable women and his struggle to connect his self-perception with the music in his head.
"Behemoth!" premiered at the 2026 New York Film Festival and is set for a December 4, 2026, theatrical release. The film is less about the power of movie music and more about one man's journey to align his life's soundtrack with his evolving sense of self.
