H Is for Hawk

Book movie | 9+

The film adaptation of Helen Macdonald's memoir H Is for Hawk, about grief and training a hawk.

When Helen unexpectedly loses her beloved father Alistair, her world collapses. To cope with his death, Helen takes in the hawk Mabel. Falconry was a childhood passion of hers, which her father has always supported. The demanding training of this spirited bird of prey presents Helen with great challenges. However, it creates a special bond that not only helps her overcome her grief, but also allows her to rediscover the beauty of life.

Animals can be a great source of comfort. There are even studies showing that animals are better at helping people cope with loss than humans. But that is beyond the hawk. A solitary predator, "insensitive to the suffering of a human life", as Helen Macdonald writes in the memoir. Perhaps that is exactly what Helen needs. An animal indifferent to her pain. Insensitive to her grief and the depression she falls into after her father (a sympathetic role by Brendan Gleeson) dies. An animal that gives no love and that you cannot give love to. That you can only try to follow in her nosedive. But whether that is a flight towards "an honest confrontation with death", as Helen describes hunting with a hawk, or away from it, the film deliberately leaves open.

Directed by: Philippa Lowthorpe
Actors: Claire Foy, Brendan Gleeson, Denise Goug
Duration: 115 minutes