THE HAWK IS DYING

Another independent movie that came up on my radar lately: The Hawk Is Dying by Julian Goldberger. Based on the book by Harry Crews, the film is a story of every day despair.
It is the story of George an automobile upholsterer who lives with his obese and insecure sister Precious and her mentally handicapped son. Stuck between a dead-end job and a problem family George (Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti) has two means of respite. One is his casual relationship with a dead-beat psychology student (Oscar nominee Michelle Williams) where he is part sexual partner, part research project. The second one is hawking. George’s ultimate dream in life is to trap and train a hawk, but no matter how hard he and his nephew (the talented Michael Pitt) try all the hawks they catch end up dying in the end… One day, while they are searching for a new hawk, they trap a magnificent red-tailed hawk, and the bird unwillingly starts a chain of events that can only be described in the end as tragic…
One thing about this film is that the acting is absolutely brilliant. And that makes for a thoroughly depressing film, because The Hawk Is Dying is the story of normal people who live mind-numbingly everyday lives and who have to cope with tragic events. No heroics. No “beautiful relationships” and “noble feelings”. Just human beings, warts and all. And let me add that despite the at times desperate overtones the film carries, as in life itself, it is an ill wind that blows no good and silver linings are to be found everywhere so long as you know where to look…
You may, of course protest that we see enough of that in our day to day lives. This would be fair enough. But this film is definitely worth it if you want to try something different…