Helen is a high-flying graduate student at Cambridge who is on the cusp of receiving a prestigious fellowship at the Max Planck Institute, the zenith in her field. Her students admire her, her colleagues respect her and her professors have high hopes for her. Her hard work is about to pay off when she is suddenly derailed. Her beloved father, a man who taught her to fly free in life, dies suddenly. She is beyond distraught. He was a fearless photojournalist with an extraordinary eye who taught her to see the details in nature and enjoy the fine art of falconry. She is so inextricably tied to him that she can see no way to go forward. Realizing that it was through his eyes that she saw the world, she determines to honor his memory by training a falcon, not just any falcon, but the most difficult and aloof of the breed, the goshawk.
Under the tutelage of her friend Stuart, she begins her journey with the hawk. Ironically, it’s not Helen training the bird, but the bird who is training Helen. Completely absorbed in the project, the recalcitrant hawk takes over her life. It’s a long road toward trust and the bird, at the beginning, won’t eat or obey. She takes him everywhere, something that displeases the resident directors, who remind her that pets are not allowed in campus housing. As she explains to one and all, her bird, now named Mabel, is not a pet.
Photos courtesy of Roadside Attractions
As she becomes more and more absorbed in what may have started as a hobby but is now a life choice, she begins to neglect her classes, students and work. Her best friend Christina, still around despite the ghosting behavior of Helen, watches out for her friend as she goes down the rabbit hole of obsession.
Helen’s memories of significant moments with her father blend into her total consumption of Mabel’s behavior. Mabel is more attached to Helen than the jesses, the leather straps that keep her secured to Helen’s wrist as she trains. This is an inverse relationship because the more independent and proficient at hunting untethered Mabel grows, Helen becomes more dependent on the bird, worrying whether it will return or whether it will find its prey. Helen, the formerly neat and natty lecturer, nails done, hair coiffed, attire immaculate, gradually descends into slovenliness from dress to hygiene. Her classes are neglected and her future in doubt, Helen sees only the hawk, a substitute for her lost attachment to her father.
“H Is for Hawk” is based on the memoir by Helen Macdonald, who spent a year training a goshawk after her father passed away suddenly from a heart attack. It is a slim story made better by the extraordinary cast. In an undeveloped role, Lindsay Duncan as Helen’s mother, exudes care and concern. Denise Gough is Helen’s best friend Christina, whose loyalty is a touchstone both to Helen and the film. Brenden Gleeson as Helen’s dad, is always a welcome presence and a highlight of this small movie. It is easy to understand how wonderful an influence he was on his daughter, and how great a loss his absence is. Gleeson is an actor who would make the telephone book (remember those?) fascinating reading. Simultaneously gruff and warm, as a father he would be irreplaceable. Claire Foy is an exceptional Helen. She lets you see all the enthusiastic promise that her character held and breaks your heart as you see her obsession take over every aspect of her life, an obsession that merely masks but doesn’t replace her aching loss. Helen becomes a case study in depression.
The narrative is slight and ends rather abruptly, but it’s still an absorbing film full of character development and depth. Mabel the goshawk is, at turns, frightening and loveable, undergoing changes that dominate the screen and her mistress. The cinematography is excellent, highlighting the beautiful countryside around Cambridge. The film never drags, and just the falconry alone is worthwhile experiencing.
Now playing at the Laemmle Monica Film Center.
Neely Swanson spent most of her professional career in the television industry, almost all of it working for David E. Kelley. In her last full-time position as Executive Vice President of Development, she reviewed writer submissions and targeted content for adaptation. As she has often said, she did book reports for a living. For several years she was a freelance writer for “Written By,” the magazine of the WGA West, and was adjunct faculty at USC in the writing division of the School of Cinematic Arts. Neely has been writing film and television reviews for the “Easy Reader” for more than 10 years. Her past reviews can be read on Rotten Tomatoes where she is a tomatometer-approved critic.
