H is for Hawk

12A

Cambridge academic Helen (Foy) is stricken with grief after the unexpected loss of her beloved father (Brendan Gleeson). To recover, she retreats from the human world and turns to nature instead. Adopting and training a northern goshawk, she enters into what becomes a profoundly challenging but consoling dynamic with Mabel, the haughty, stubborn, ferocious bird she takes on.

Director Philippa Lowthorpe’s (Misbehaviour, Three Girls) arresting adaptation boasts wonderful footage of its magnificent feathered co-star and a career-best performance from Foy as she reflects on the wilds of grief and the tenacity and indifference of the natural world.