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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Harry Crews (novel)
Julian Goldberger (writer)
Release Date:
9 July 2008 (France) more
Plot:
A Gainesville Florida auto upholsterer (Giamatti) attempts to subvert his mundane life by training a wild, red-tailed hawk. | full synopsis
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Ciff 2009: The winners! And our reviews
(From Roger Ebert's Blog. 22 October 2009, 6:39 PM, PDT)
Top 50 Hottest Young Actresses - Top 20
(From The Movie Fanatic. 5 July 2009, 4:22 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Giamatti is at His Best more (13 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Paul Giamatti | ... | George Gattling | |
| Michelle Williams | ... | Betty | |
| Michael Pitt | ... | Fred | |
| Rusty Schwimmer | ... | Precious | |
| Robert Wisdom | ... | Billy Bob | |
| Ann Wedgeworth | ... | Ma Gattling | |
| Mark Campbell | ... | Football Player | |
| Ayana Rhoden | ... | Girlfriend | |
| Taylor Simpson | ... | Gray Bony Lady | |
| John Hostetter | ... | Nebbish Professor | |
| Steve DuMouchel | ... | Marvin Hill | |
| Katie Dixon | ... | Young Female Undergrad | |
| Veryl Jones | ... | Ambulance Driver | |
| Karl Anthony | ... | Dr. Leep | |
| Marc Macaulay | ... | Alonzo |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
USA:112 min (Sundance Film Festival)
Country:
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Certification:
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Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The production schedule only allowed for 24 days of shooting. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: The captured bird featured in the film is identified as a red tailed hawk. The bird shown in the film is most likely a Lanner Falcon. more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (13 total)
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In The Hawk is Dying, Paul Giamatti plays George Gattling, a single guy who owns an auto upholstery store and lives with his divorced sister Precious (Rusty Schwimmer) and her mentally handicapped son Fred (Michael Pitt). George is infatuated with birds of prey and is almost single-mindedly committed to training one. However, his past efforts have failed, much to his public embarrassment, and the movie opens with Fred holding a private funeral for a recently deceased hawk.
George and Fred finally trap another bird, this an exquisite red-tailed hawk. His challenge is to get it to eat so it will stay alive, no small challenge to a wild hawk suddenly in captivity. Saving the hawk becomes an objective Gattling tenaciously clings to despite tragic circumstances he is forced to endure. This is one plum role for Giamatti and he plays it to perfection. The movie might not play to a large audience, but Giamatti's performance is once-again Oscar worthy.
Without getting too esoteric, the Hawk is Dying is a powerful metaphor. We do find thingshobbies, interests, relationships and activitiesthat bring passion to our lives, define who we are and give us a reason to endure. These pursuits can take on a life of their own, providing almost mystical enchantment and meaning to our otherwise humdrum existence.
One can argue that Hawk moves slowly, that there isn't any meaningful action, that the relationships are unusual. All those things are true. This is a flawed movie and certainly open to criticism. But Giamatti is so good, and his single-minded pursuit so compelling, that it's a movie you won't want to miss.