When Helen’s beloved father passes away, she is overtaken by grief and loses herself in memories of their time birding and exploring the natural world together. She becomes obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk, and so she brings the fearsome bird Mabel home to Cambridge with her. Ready to embark on the arduous process of trying to train the wildest of animals, Helen fills the freezer with hawk food and turns off her phone. But as she labors to teach Mabel how to hunt and fly free on her own, Helen uncovers how neglected her own emotions and life have become. Based on a true story and a memoir of the same name, H IS FOR HAWK is a soaring journey of the connection between people and nature, and how it might be possible to reconcile loss through love.
Starring Claire Foy, Brendan Gleeson, Denise Gough, Sam Spruell and Lindsay Duncan.
The Playlist – “Finding ways to cope with any significant tragedy is hardly new, but in the hands of Foy and Lowthrope, it is.” (full review here)
Austin Chronicle – “The film tracks the laborious training process of how anxious, heartbroken Helen forges a bond with Mabel, and it’s fascinating stuff.” (full review here)
