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‘It’s the Meryl Streep of the orchestra’: why cinema loves the cello

‘It’s the Meryl Streep of the orchestra’: why cinema loves the cello

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From Audrey Hepburn to Pedro Pascal, cellists have become a movie shorthand for sensitivity, intensity and emotional depth. But why has Hollywood turned one orchestral instrument into a character in its own right? There’s a throwaway line in 2012’s The Avengers, after a character’s death, when his partner is alluded to

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From Audrey Hepburn to Pedro Pascal, cellists have become a movie shorthand for sensitivity, intensity and emotional depth. But why has Hollywood turned one orchestral instrument into a character in its own right?

There’s a throwaway line in 2012’s The Avengers, after a character’s death, when his partner is alluded to. “There was a cellist, I think,” muses Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark. It’s a spot of pathos amid the punch-ups – but also rather telling.

Because when even a superhero blockbuster reaches for the cello, you know the instrument is carrying more than just a melody.

Earlier this month, a trailer dropped for the upcoming Pedro Pascal drama Behemoth!, in which he plays a celebrated cellist returning to Hollywood to score films.

Real-life cellist and film composer Hildur Guðnadóttir says the instrument “is definitely having a moment right now. But it’s always been present.” Continue reading...

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