By Tyler Banark

Death is inevitable, and we all have to face it at some point in our lives. When we do so, it will leave a heavy burden, and the best way to cope with it is to find ways to get our minds off of who we just lost. In “H is for Hawk,” we see English writer Helen Macdonald (Claire Foy) become a goshawk owner after her father’s death. Based on a true story, Macdonald’s coping process is met with peaks and valleys, but her end goal is to find peace with everything. Not everyone will understand, but as long as she finds solace, all the power is with her. As for “H is for Hawk” itself, it’s a beautifully crafted look at grief, but it’s unfortunately muddled with painful pacing. 

The biggest upside to “H is for Hawk” is Claire Foy’s strong performance. She’s no stranger to playing roles where her character faces adversity and the unknown of what’s to come. We’ve seen it in her turns as Neil Armstrong’s wife in 2018’s First Man and Salome in 2022’s Women Talking. The gravitas of her role anchors these movies, and much like those parts, playing Helen carries a lot of weight. Foy’s often quiet, and we see her play Helen as she deals with grief by tending to her pet goshawk, Mabel. It’s in these quiet moments where she shines. Even when she’s being confronted about her late father or her new lifestyle as a bird owner, Helen’s firmness and Foy effortlessly translate it.

However, “H is for Hawk” isn’t the soulful meditation of grief that’ll floor audiences. It’s slow and will test the viewer’s patience. As much as I want to be deeply invested in Macdonald’s story and see what comes of her healing process, the movie makes it hard for me to stay engaged by its melancholia and molasses-like pace. I also felt the movie could’ve done more with Brendan Gleeson as Helen’s father. He’s in the movie where he’s supposed to be, but he’s more so for the use of flashbacks that connect to whatever’s happening in the plot. What I wished had happened differently is that the movie had Helen’s father develop over time before his death, so that, in that way, his death feels much heavier. By comparison, Hamnet’s death in last year’s Hamnet felt sudden and shocking, not just because of how sudden it happened but because the audience got time with the ill-fated child. If “H is for Hawk,” he took this approach, it would’ve worked much more easily, and Helen’s father’s death would’ve been much more resonant. 

In a new year, “H is for Hawk,” which might not be the wisest film to release in January. It’s got the blueprint for a film that resonates with audiences, but unfortunately, it gets lost in its own sauce by the time the credits roll. The only good thing coming from this hollowness is Foy’s performance, which should be enough to witness alone. It’s unfortunate that a movie of this caliber will unlikely stand the test of time by the end of this year. H is for Hawk, which will fly for now and get off the ground, but it won’t soar high. 

3 stars