‘On a String’ Tribeca Review: Isabel Hagen’s Viola-Playing Heroine Finds Humor in Stagnation

Isabel Hagen’s “On a String” might be one of the few films where the setup itself already plays like a punchline: a Juilliard-trained violist, stuck living at home with her parents, moonlights as a gigging musician while trying to scrape together a life—and possibly, a career—in New York City.

That the filmmaker behind it is a real-life Juilliard-trained violist and working stand-up comic only makes it more intriguing. It’s fertile ground for comedy, especially for anyone aware of the long-running (and mostly affectionate) ribbing violists receive in classical music circles. Hagen, it seems, is more than happy to play into this cultural in-joke, but with her own deadpan twist.

A Life in the Background, in More Ways Than One

In the film, Hagen plays Isabel, whose post-Juilliard life hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. She lives with her high-achieving family in a crowded New York apartment, where her father (Dylan Baker, pitch-perfect as always) offers calm support, while her brother snidely dismisses her excitement about auditioning for the Philharmonic. Chicago or Berlin, he shrugs, casually setting the bar at Olympian height.

Isabel’s work consists mostly of playing background music at functions where no one listens—weddings, funerals, dinner parties for distracted socialites. Her friend Christina, played by violinist Ling Ling Huang (who also performs her own parts), sums it up with clipped honesty: “All we do is shitty background stuff.” These details, from the blunt musician banter to the disinterested crowds, are striking in their specificity. Hagen doesn’t exaggerate the freelance struggle for effect; she just captures it plainly, and that’s what gives the film weight.

There is a loose plot, though it floats more than it drives. Isabel ends a relationship with a needy boyfriend, only to get tangled up again with a toxic ex—now a hotshot cellist in the Philharmonic—who toys with her feelings while dangling a professional opportunity in front of her. At the same time, a new complication enters the mix: Carl (Frederick Weller), a man whom Isabel thought was flirting with her, actually seeks her help tutoring his daughter on the violin. He’s married, charming, and just emotionally open enough to keep Isabel guessing about where the line actually is. 

None of these threads spiral into melodrama. Instead, they play out with an awkward realism that many will recognize. Isabel isn’t naïve, but she’s aimless, and she’s lonely. And that loneliness clouds her judgment in deeply human ways.

Still Faces, Sharply Drawn Characters

As a performer, Hagen is remarkably expressive without leaning into theatricality. Her best moments often happen in silence—an eye twitch, a pause too long, a facial reaction that says what her dialogue doesn’t. There’s a whiff of Judy Greer in her gaze, or maybe a silent-era star caught in the emotional logic of 21st-century hookups and unpaid rehearsals. She carries a palpable sense of inward drift, but doesn’t overplay it. The performance lands because it doesn’t push.

The supporting cast is equally well-calibrated. Weller resists easy charm, giving Carl a kind of hollow warmth that makes his scenes with Isabel quietly uneasy. Baker, meanwhile, gives one of the film’s softest moments its emotional core. In a late-night conversation with Isabel as she teeters over the edge, his kindness and realism align into something surprisingly affecting. It’s the kind of scene that doesn’t call attention to itself, but one that stays.

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Quiet Craft, Comedic Rhythm

Visually, “On a String” pairs soft cinematography with smart, precise editing. The pacing is measured, but not sluggish. A few well-placed cuts, particularly in the film’s comic set-ups, help Hagen’s timing land with precision. Scenes like an interrupted elevator confession or a wedding proposal gone wrong add texture without screaming “quirky.” And the variety of performance settings—some absurd, others quietly tragic—play like a silent commentary reel on the indignities of artistic freelancing.

Musically, the film benefits from Will Canzoneri’s original score, which complements rather than crowds the story. It’s light on its feet when needed, gently melancholic when the story dips into reflection. It’s also refreshing to hear Hagen’s real viola playing throughout—sometimes bright and focused, other times intentionally off. In fact, some scenes feature slightly flat or out-of-time phrasing, which feels intentional and lends credibility to Isabel’s mid-career shakiness. As a frustrated musician myself, I find those details ground the film in a way that polished playing wouldn’t.

Even so, the film occasionally drags. Despite its compact 78-minute runtime, there are moments where the story sags. Scenes begin to feel like lateral moves rather than steps forward. And while the audition for the Philharmonic is framed as a potential turning point, it ultimately arrives with little ceremony. The tension never really builds. For a moment that’s meant to define her trajectory, it plays more like a late-game errand than a narrative climax. That may be the point, that life doesn’t always hand out epiphanies. But in the process, the film also mutes the emotional payoff.

‘On a String’: A Story That Wanders—and That’s the Point

What ultimately resonates is the quiet tension between purpose and passivity. Hagen isn’t offering a tidy story about overcoming obstacles. Instead, she simply observes it, with clarity and a dry sense of humor. That won’t be for everyone. The film doesn’t charm in conventional ways, and it certainly doesn’t resolve in them. But for those who’ve been trapped in the between-space of ambition and inertia—who’ve waited for the thing that was supposed to happen already—”On a String” will feel familiar in a way most films never bother to be. The result is a film that eschews grand denouements but which still feels honest, even oddly comforting, in its portrayal of someone quietly flailing toward meaning.

”On a String” is an intimate debut with honest instincts and an eye for the minor notes we usually overlook. Hagen might not take the obvious route toward our sympathy, but she earns it anyway. For those who’ve ever felt caught in the purgatory between potential and payoff, it’ll resonate. The writer/director/star may not be playing to a packed concert hall here, but she’s definitely playing something worth paying attention to.

Isabel Hagen’s film “On a String” will premiere at this year’s Tribeca Festival, which runs from June 4 to 15, 2025. Follow us for more coverage.