H Is for Hawk (2025)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A woman navigates the raw reality of grief by immersing herself in the demanding, wild world of falconry.
The story
Following the sudden death of her father, Helen Macdonald retreats from her academic and social life to find solace in the rigorous discipline of falconry. She acquires a female goshawk named Mabel, dedicating herself to the meticulous and physically demanding routines required to tame and hunt with the bird. The narrative explores the intersection of her personal bereavement and the psychological challenges of training a wild predator. As she becomes increasingly absorbed in the hawk's world, she seeks refuge in the clarity of the natural world, navigating a solitary journey to cope with her loss.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film follows Helen Macdonald as she processes the sudden death of her father, Alisdair, by training a goshawk named Mabel. The story weaves together her personal grief with the grueling physical and psychological demands of falconry. As Helen becomes more absorbed in the hawk's world, she retreats from her previous academic and social life, seeking refuge in the harsh clarity of nature. While the source material details her eventual re-engagement with the human world, the film concludes while she is still in a 'half-wild' state. It captures the moment she begins to inhabit her own skin again, moving away from trying to become like the hawk, while remaining in a state of solitude. The film avoids a traditional 'return to normalcy,' focusing instead on the lasting impact of grief and the wild.
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 115
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Philippa Lowthorpe
- Cast and characters
- Claire Foy · Helen Macdonald; Brendan Gleeson · Alisdair Macdonald, Helen's father; Denise Gough · Christina; Sam Spruell · Stuart; Lindsay Duncan · Helen's mother
- Genres
- biographical drama
- Themes
- grief; nature; solitude
- Tone and mood
- intense; solitary; raw
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; falconry
- Source material / true-story basis
- H is for Hawk, the 2014 memoir by Helen Macdonald
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 63 · scale: 100 · review count: 24
- Production trivia
- The film was developed with Film4, who executive produced and co-financed.; The film was also produced by Plan B Entertainment, which had been attached to an adaptation of the book with Lena Headey in 2017.; Lionsgate acquired UK and Irish distribution rights to the film from Protagonist Pictures in November 2024.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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