Gemma Creagh steps into nature for at Philippa Lowthorpe's latest feature.
Last year, The Penguin Lessons saw a rebellious teacher bring a bird into the classroom to learn some heartfelt life lessons. On paper, H is for Hawk might repeat that premise; however, the execution and results here are altogether different.
Bookish wildlife enthusiast Helen Macdonald (Claire Foy) is at a crossroads. Her term as a Graduate Fellow at Cambridge is about to come to an end, and she must now decide what exciting and fulfilling career path to embark on next. A job in Germany, perhaps? Or maybe something closer to home. Research or teaching? She hashes this privileged dilemma out with her colleague and charming work-wife Christina (Denise Gough) over wine.
Helen’s world is upended when she receives a devastating call from her mother (Lindsay Duncan). Her father, photographer, birdwatcher and relentless gardener, Alisdair Macdonald (Brendan Gleeson), has died. Nevertheless, she insists on going to dinner as the reservations have been made. As Christina explains the untouched food to an empathetic waiter, Helen’s complex grief process begins. As life tends to do, it continues on around her, but she is haunted by the memory of her beloved Alisdair. Each present-day encounter triggers a recollection, be it her father abruptly barging into a police crime scene or dragging her on outings to photograph obscure bridges. He was the person in this world who knew her best.
When Helen gets Mabel the goshawk, a notoriously difficult and violent bird of prey, she falls instantly in love. Under the guidance of salt-of-the-earth falconry expert Stuart (Sam Spruell), she throws herself into the bird’s rigorous training. Last year, Juan Salvador the penguin taught students valuable lessons of acceptance. Yet, in this film Mabel does not prove to be as good a teaching assistant. Helen’s lessons, research and, finally, social relationships all fall foul of Mabel. Hunting game in the surrounding countryside becomes Helen’s main focus. As her father’s memorial approaches, Helen becomes increasingly lost, regressing into isolation with only Mabel for company.
In an industry obsessed with big concepts and high-octane moviemaking, H is for Hawk brings something quite special to the screen with its smallness. This is a meditative film, which takes its time on extended sequences without dialogue, set in the natural beauty of the English countryside. The script is co-written by Philippa Lowthorpe and Irish writer Emma Donoghue, and based on the autobiography of Helen Macdonald of the same name. Even underneath the film’s central premise of grief lie rich themes and questions on environmental responsibility and man’s role in nature. Through the deep impact Alisdair had with his work and family, the importance of legacy is something that reflects back into Helen’s own existential crisis: what is the value of a life?
Grief can take people down a dark path: gambling, drink, addiction, sex. Texts on the subject matter are plentiful; however, falconry as a self-destructive coping mechanism is new. How the film looks at mental health and the creeping onset of depression, especially in a life that is outwardly successful, is something H is for Hawk does well. The English stiff upper lip can have dark consequences when it leads to dissociating from one’s feelings and losing oneself altogether.
Three-time BAFTA-winning director Philippa Lowthorpe was asked to come on board this film at a time in her life when she lost her own father. With an impressive list of credits, she is both prolific as a filmmaker and boasts a wide-ranging array of skills. Starting her career in documentary, she subsequently moved into drama, where she flourished. In 2017, Three Girls - which won our own Una Ní Dhonghaíle the BAFTA for her work as an editor - was one of the most haunting pieces of event television. Lowthorpe directed key moments in beloved shows like The Crown and Call the Midwife, and worked on the live-action series of Willow, and much more. Her first feature was the family fantasy Swallows and Amazons, then The Other Boleyn Girl (2003), another adaptation, and something quite different, was a comedy take on the UK pageant scene with Jessie Buckley and Keira Knightley, Misbehaviour (2020).
In 2026, things are not good for gender equality in film. In Hollywood, women made up only 13% of the directors working on the top 250 films last year, down from 16% in 2024. For the last two years, our main industry festival, Galway Film Fleadh, reported receiving roughly 10% women submitting for the category of Irish feature films. This is why the authenticity of perspective is important; Lowthorpe has put together a strong women-led team of creatives.
For those of us not quite au fait with the world of falconry, the beautiful musical compositions by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch do heavy lifting with emotional cues. While Director of Photography Charlotte Bruus Christensen captures the rush and energy of the wildlife, the power of the hunt, which is not an easy task as animals are infamously bad at taking direction, the wilds and beauty of the natural landscape. But she also frames Helen’s intimate emotional journey so well by contrast.
The cast is superb. The old adage of never working with children or animals may have been pushed to the limit, especially in devising a love story involving a bird of prey that can kill animals larger than its own body by constriction and repeated stabbing. But nevertheless, Mabel, our co-lead, proves she’s a star. In actual fact, she is two birds, who were raised for the purpose of this film. Although his role is somewhat brief, our national treasure Brendan Gleeson gives immense depth to Alisdair. One hundred per cent pure sound dad vibes that light up the screen. While Andor star Denise Gough shirks her Clare/Wexford brogue for an Australian accent this time, and brings such restrained warmth and wit to Christina. Surprisingly, Claire Foy proves to be a dab hand at the art of falconry. But it’s in embracing the weight of what is a mostly internal journey where she completely transforms.
Making space for important conversations, H is for Hawk is a quietly thoughtful and skilful piece of cinema, and one well worth sinking your talons into.
H is for Hawk is available to stream online now.
