On A String

Effort or effortlessness. It is that simple: one needs either one or the other to make things work, for the sake of authenticity or for the sake of humour. For instance, the reason why A Late Quartet (2012) was one of the best movies on the topic of music is the effort its director Yaron Zilberman and the actors put into making things appear completely pristine – the stars had to take lessons in order to be able just to hold their instruments and drag a bow like the professionals do. The film did not express any sense of humour, though, but its dead serious tone was earned by the understanding and the effort invested by everyone involved.

On A String’s writer, director and leading actress, Isabel Hagen, did not have any of the problems of that kind for the simple reason that she actually is a violist. She played her (orchestral) part(s) in the film, literally. And she drew the inspiration from her own life as a struggling musician in a cutthroat world of rare opportunities, battling egos, childish envy and outlandish requests. Regarding humour, though, she did not have to make too much effort, she is a violist and, after all, that bunch is always at the butt of most music-related jokes.

When we meet the lead character neatly named Isabel, she performs in a park as a man asks a woman to marry him, only to get rejected. Playing at a proposal seems like an odd thing to do, but 80 bucks for mere minutes or half an hour is a substantial fee for Isabel and she needs it desperately, as she is in no position to decline gigs. She plays weddings, various events and even house parties with her quartet, lead by her best friend Christina (Ling Ling Huang). Isabel also guest-appears on an album and at a concert of a completely fake aspiring pop-star named Vybe (Charlotte Ray Rosenberg), she is a part of an ensemble recording music for a capricious director (Eric Bogosian, brilliant in a bit role), she teaches private lessons. Although she does not see herself as an orchestra – meaning team – player, she is preparing for the audition, hoping to land some job security without changing career, but that could put friendship with Christina and the future of their quartet to a test. On top of that, she starts feeling pain in her hand.

In the private sphere, Isabel lives at home with her music teacher father (Dylan Baker), her mother (Joy Suprano) who does not understand music and her underachiever brother (Hagen’s own brother Oliver) who acts in an extremely obnoxious and entitled way. She seems somehow obligated to get involved with a “star” cello player Dave (John Kroner) who, in return, uses her to build up his own ego. Her newest challenge comes in the form of Carl (Frederick Weller), the father of her student, who thinks that seducing Isabel is the answer to his midlife crisis.

On A String is basically a string (pun intended) of episodes in which Isabel tries to navigate her personal and professional life, trying to figure out what to do. But maybe above all the mentioned relationships, the most important is the one she has with music, because it can be extremely rough, no matter how much love and reward is involved. In that regard, the soundtrack of the film is incredibly important and shines in all of its colours, whether it is classical or pop or faux country, scored by Hagen’s partner and fellow musician Will Canzoneri.

The episodic structure of the film and New York as the general location of the plot channels mumblecore vibes, further enhanced by the non-flashy, life-like and low-risk realist approach in portraying life and situations. Zac Nicholson’s cinematography shows the place we have known since forever just from the movies with a documentary-like quality, while Olivia Vessel’s editing puts the dynamically different episodes into a rhythm of sorts – a challenge, because Hagen previously used similar material for her stand-up comedy performances and for a web series. The casting also works perfectly, offering a logical blend of professional actors, relative newcomers and professional musicians with some acting talent.

There is no grand adventure, no melodramatic pathos, no broad comedy, just life as an eternal struggle for survival and for the chance of thriving, but also with a sense of warmth. We can surely take that journey alongside Isabel, as it takes mere 78 minutes, and the situations, although sometimes exaggerated a bit for humorous effect, are quite familiar to us. (For some of us, the partners of academic musicians, especially violists, even painfully familiar.) Maybe its protagonist hangs by a string, like we’ve all done at some point of our lives, but as a small, unpretentious indie, On A String stands firmly.

Reviewed on: 23 Nov 2025