FILM REVIEW
H IS FOR HAWK
Rated PG-13
114 Minutes
Released January 23rd
If you are someone who talks to birds or mimics their calls and chirps- OK, call me crazy, but I’ve been told by an ornithology expert that they do hear you if you mimic them – you will love H Is for Hawk. The film will introduce you to the fascinating sport of falconry, which is the 4000-year-old art of developing a relationship with a bird of prey.
It’s not an action movie, but rather a psychological study of human bonding with each other and with the animal kingdom. Claire Foy does an outstanding job as “Helen,” the main character. Although this is a story with little suspense, Foy is extremely interesting to watch as always, playing a character heading towards a breakdown. She goes to a very dark place here without losing the light completely. However, the real stars of this movie are the goshawks, a type of very large hawk, who play the other major character, “Mabel.”
The film is based on the true story of Helen McDonald, the daughter of a celebrity photographer for a British newspaper. Father and daughter were constant companions and shared a love of watching birds. When her father died, McDonald was devastated. Looking for some kind of link to her dad’s memory, she contacted a bird breeder, looking to purchase a raptor as a pet.
Raptors are birds of prey that include hawks, eagles, condors, and falcons. The breeder tried to convince her to choose a more docile species, but she was intent on having a goshawk, one of the most dangerous of the raptor family. Thus began the relationship between McDonald and her companion, “Mabel,” the goshawk.
McDonald wrote a memoir about her experience in 2014, which won the Samuel Johnson prize for Nonfiction. She had taken a job teaching history of science at Cambridge, but she realized her ideas weren’t going far beyond the classroom, so she wrote her book. Don’t expect an edge-of-your-seat adventure, as this movie is a psychological study. The most fascinating part of the film is the relationship between Mabel and Helen. Both are transformed in the bonding process.
Director Philippa Lowthorpe has worked in television and film since the 1990’s. She grew up in a small village in the English countryside and never dreamed that she would work in the industry. She started by making documentaries and, more recently, moved to directing dramas. She notes that her father was a real character, like Helen’s dad, and he had passed away shortly before she took on the project. Lowthorpe had directed Claire Foy on some episodes of television’s The Crown, so she knew the actress would be a great choice for the role.
Foy studied acting at university and at the Oxford School of Drama. She debuted in 2008 on screen in a TV miniseries and on stage, and she won a 2018 Emmy for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown. Here, she is believable as a woman suffering from a great loss who reaches out desperately for a life to connect with.
The incomparable Brendan Gleeson plays Helen’s “Dad” in flashbacks. Gleeson was a “late bloomer” as a film/TV actor, having grown up loving theatre. He joined the Dublin Shakespeare Company and then the Royal Shakespeare Company. At the age of 35, he decided to audition for films, and we can be grateful for that. At first, he played small roles, then appeared in Braveheart in 1995. He became better known after John Boorman gave him starring roles in The General (1998) and The Tailor of Panama (2001). He has now appeared in over 100 films, bringing great depth and shading to his roles.
The other stars are the goshawks who played Mabel. Several hawks took turns in playing the role, but it was “Jess,” a goshawk from Scotland, who stole the show and dictated the style of production. All the filmmakers had to be trained in sharing the stage with the hawks, and the sets were tailored to their comfort, in design, lighting, and sound. The sound booms had to be camouflaged. Every costume was designed to be comfortable in color and design for the hawks, as goshawks like consistency.
I can confirm that even the juncos and goldfinches that flock to my birdbath every morning like it to be in the same spot, clean and filled with fresh water. Lowthorpe was educated in falconry and handling the birds by the author, McDonald herself. The director said, “We were very, very lucky we had fantastic bird experts.” One was an expert in goshawks, the most difficult hawks to train. He taught them to fly with tiny camera drones gliding beside them. Much of the footage of the hawks is breathtaking.
Author McDonald says, “I felt like a ghost watching the film of myself, but mostly I was amazed by how well they captured the relationship between my dad and myself.” She thinks Foy and Gleeson did an incredible job and notes that Foy “turned out to be an extraordinarily gifted falconer.” McDonald says that her dad “taught me to look up.” If you’ve never had a chance to experience falconry, try it. There is a sense of interconnection you gain from handling raptors that lies outside human communication. In McDonald’s words, “The hawk takes you to the underworld and back.”
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
