I had not known anything about the book or this film prior to it being listed as one of the possible films to watch for January. Seeing that Brendan Gleeson was in the film piqued my interest; he's one of those actors who could read the phone book and still make it engaging.
This is a gentle film about the loss of a loved one and how each of us deals with grief.
Before going out to celebrate with a friend, Helen receives a call from her mum(Lindsay Duncan), who tells her that her father has passed away.
How the film deals with the death of her father is both gentle and beautiful, for there are no bad thoughts of her father by anyone who knew him. Her grief starts to consume her, as she will later share at his memorial, that she felt he was the only person who truly understood her, and she misses him terribly.
In my thoughts of the film, I like that those around her understand that she is grieving, might not be taking the best care of herself, and her house. Her good friend Christina(Denise Gough) offers to pack for her, so she can get some writing done for her father's service. It's little things like that, and when her brother and mother come to visit, they glance at each other after taking stock in the kitchen and other rooms.
It's truly when Helen gets Mabel, the Goshawk, that is 100% real. She enjoys her solace with the bird, until she feels she is over her head and needs some support, which isn't far away from her. Her friend Stuart(Sam Spruell) is very supportive and encouraging.
Helen has been invited to Germany for a year, but she has yet to fill out the application or get other things done. She has lost her housing as she is no longer teaching, so her need to pack and get the piece written for her father's memorial are both as important.
In the director's notes, she shares that both she and Helen's fathers had both passed away; upon reading that, it makes total sense to me how the film was so compassionate, allowing her to have her time to grieve. I didn't find the film to be heavy, it did deal with the emotions of the characters as one would expect & Claire Foy is fantastic as Helen.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
I count myself incredibly lucky to have been invited on the ‘Hawk’ journey by Dede
Gardner back in 2017. My own Dad had passed away earlier that year, and as soon as I
read ‘H is for Hawk’, Helen Macdonald’s beautiful account of training a goshawk in the
wake of her father’s sudden death, I knew I wanted to be part of bringing this powerful
and moving true story to the screen. I understood what Helen had been through and was
drawn to exploring the deep bond between a father and adult daughter – a relationship
rarely seen on screen. Being from a farming family and growing up in the countryside,
like Helen, I also have a deep interest in our relationship as humans to the natural world
and its transformative power - a place still untamed yet one which throws up answers if
we can only look for them.
From the outset, I wanted to film the hawk in as real and intimate way as possible, but
how on earth to do that? Helen advised me to get in touch with Lloyd and Rose Buck, a
husband and wife team (David Attenborough is a pal) who specialise in natural history
filmmaking with all kinds of birds, including goshawks. Talking to Lloyd, it was clear that
a film about a woman training a goshawk was not going to be easy. Never mind casting
and raising the finance, any filming would have to fit in with the hawks’ natural rhythm
and could only be scheduled during late autumn/winter – film later and the hawks start
moulting. The hawks had to come first.
Once we had our brilliant human leads--Claire Foy and Brendan Gleeson, and our two
Mabels (whom Lloyd and Rose had lovingly hand reared from chicks)--we were ready to
plan the shoot. Again, Lloyd’s expertise was crucial; Claire would have to undergo
intensive training in how to handle a goshawk; all crew would have to wear the same
‘plumage’ - dark green or black clothes; no non-essential crew would be allowed on set
and in exterior scenes they would have to hide away in easy-ups and keep quiet. We
were glad to follow the rules. Whenever a hawk was on set, the sense of awe and respect
from all the crew was profound.
Claire Foy turned out to be a natural falconer. I remember seeing the first clip of Claire’s
training. She was striding across a windswept moor, dressed in her ‘Helen’ clothes with a
huge hawk on her wrist. It made me cry. Watching Claire inhabit Helen so deeply and
with such raw, searing honesty was incredibly moving. She is so open as an actor and
gazing upon her face is like seeing into her soul.
Brendan Gleeson brings a great sense of mischief, warmth and humanity to his role as
Helen’s father. He and Claire had a natural chemistry both on and off set and were true
partners in crime. Lindsay Duncan plays Helen’s mother with the understanding of a
worried mother who sees their child going off the rails but can’t do anything about it. And
Denise Gough, who plays Christina (Helen’s real life best friend), was a joy with her dry
sense of humour and her witty one liners, many of which ended up in the film.
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