H is for Hawk is based on the remarkable true story of Helen (Claire Foy), who sadly and rather suddenly loses her father Alisdair (Brendan Gleeson) to a heart attack. In response to the immense grief she faces, Helen decides to buy and train a Eurasian goshawk. It does not seem like the most rational thought process, but through flashbacks it becomes more understandable as her and her father’s shared passion for bird watching is gradually made clear.

Based on the memoir by Helen MacDonald, H is for Hawk has been adapted for the big screen by writer and director Philippa Lowthorpe alongside co writer Emma Donoghue. It is an incredibly difficult task to create a window into anyone’s heart, let alone Helen’s as she closes herself off from the world, but it is something Lowthorpe and Donoghue handle with care. While I do think the relationship with her father could have been fleshed out more beyond the flashbacks, the tenderness of the screenplay gives audiences a clear understanding of Helen’s overreliance on the companionship she once shared with him.

Of course, the hawk Mabel is both the physical and metaphorical embodiment of the grief that is crippling Helen. The emotional dependency is raw and painfully real, with Helen almost assuming the role of an overprotective mother watching her child prepare to flee the nest. It is genuinely poignant, and deeply relatable too. Grief is an intensely personal journey, with no right or wrong way to navigate it, and that is something H is for Hawk captures particularly well.

Claire Foy’s performance is a joy to behold. She approaches the role with the sensitivity required to stir genuine emotion, with one particularly toe curling scene at a seminar leaving me feeling overwhelming empathy for what she was going through. Gleeson, though only briefly involved, is also excellent, and it is always a pleasure to see him on the big screen.

One aspect that genuinely took me by surprise was how beautiful the cinematography is. At times it feels like a David Attenborough documentary, with sweeping shots of the goshawk soaring through the air. Cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen should be extremely proud of the work here, and I am very interested to see what she does next.

Admittedly, H is for Hawk does feel slightly bloated in its runtime, particularly towards the end, and I would be lying if I said I did not want to feel a bit more emotionally invested. Even so, it remains a thoughtful and poignant exploration of a raw human emotion that, unfortunately, everyone will have to experience at some point. Definitely worth a watch.