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Movies / On DVD / The Hawk Is Dying
The Hawk Is Dying

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The Hawk Is Dying (2007)

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Reviews Counted:22

Fresh:6

Rotten:16

Average Rating:4.5/10

Consensus: Paul Giamatti lends his character some pathos, but The Hawk is Dying is otherwise too ambiguous and morose to be enjoyable.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Mar 30, 2007 Limited

Synopsis: It is a basic human need to connect with something larger than yourself. Achieving this state of grace is an elusive goal, and oftentimes the process of making this connection doesn't look very... It is a basic human need to connect with something larger than yourself. Achieving this state of grace is an elusive goal, and oftentimes the process of making this connection doesn't look very pretty or logical. Julian Goldberger returns to Sundance (his film Trans played in the 1999 Festival) with The Hawk Is Dying, an enigmatic and emotionally potent film about one man searching for meaning in his life. George Gattling is an auto upholsterer who lives with his sister, Precious, and her mentally challenged son, Fred. Occasionally in George's life, there is sex with Betty, a 20-something pothead. But George's passion and meaning in life are training hawks, even though he has fumbled falconry and killed several birds. One day, he and Fred catch the most magnificent red-tailed hawk he has ever seen. Nearly everyone in his life thinks he is mad for wanting to continue with falconry, but George is determined to finally tame the bird, even in the face of tragic events. Paul Giamatti's incredibly powerful performance as Gattling, an earnest man who finds himself a fish out of water in his own life, firmly holds the emotional center of this daring and confident film. Entirely original, The Hawk Is Dying is a beautiful and metaphorical film rich with genuine emotion and unexpected epiphanies. --© Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: Michelle Williams, Paul Giamatti, Robert Wisdom, Rusty Schwimmer

Starring: Michelle Williams, Paul Giamatti, Robert Wisdom, Rusty Schwimmer, Ann Wedgeworth, Michael Pitt

Director: Julian Goldberger

Director: Julian Goldberger
Screenwriter: Julian Goldberger
Producer: Mary Jane Skalski, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
Composer: Jonathan Goldberger
Studio: Strand Releasing

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Release:

May 29, 2007

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Reviews for The Hawk Is Dying

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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For performing half this film with a predatory bird perched and flapping angrily on his arm, Paul Giamatti deserves some sort of award.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
03/31/07
Tom Beer
Tom Beer
Time Out New York

Imagine an entire film infected with hangdog sensibility, unrelieved by humor or narrative interest, and you have The Hawk Is Dying.

comment Comment
04/02/07
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's awfully hard to review a movie called The Hawk is Dying without avoiding bird synonyms and metaphors.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
03/17/07
Jason Clark
Jason Clark
Slant Magazine

Giamatti delivers yet another superb performance, turning what might have been a freak show into an unexpectedly moving experience.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/30/07
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Resonant but angst-ridden, it's a subtle, strangely spiritual human drama that unfolds slowly, very slowly.

Full Review Source: www.susangranger.com | comment Comment
03/23/07
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

Loaded with obtuse symbolism, the film is not only hard to understand, it isn't much fun trying to figure it out.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/26/06
James Greenberg
James Greenberg
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Never takes flight.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/07/07
Chad Greene
Chad Greene
Boxoffice Magazine

The principal human character warns more than once, "Don't look at The Hawk." That's good advice, film fans.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
03/19/07
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

I'd rather watch Goldberger fail than a hundred others succeed.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/27/07
Nathan Lee
Nathan Lee
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Goldberger's study of a troubled man's obsession with falconry is admittedly flawed and Giamatti's acting is self-indulgent, yet there's something truly independent about this film which now gets a second chance to be seen at the Cannes Film Festival.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
04/10/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Not an easy movie to watch, and it's far from perfect -- but it does have an artsy integrity and a fascinatingly intense performance by Paul Giamatti.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
03/30/07
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's not exactly a one-man and a bird show, but it's as close as we're going to get.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Insiders | comment Comment
05/22/06
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Entertainment Insiders

The Hawk Is Dying is a fragile little movie, occasionally ridiculous, but with M. Night Shyamalan's Lady In The Water, Giamatti proved that he can make even the weirdest material believable.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
04/05/07
Noel Murray
Noel Murray
AV Club

The film is draining.

Full Review Source: Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) | comment Comment
01/25/06
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah)

Performers capable of exquisite work elsewhere are undirected here.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/23/06
David Rooney
David Rooney
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

These strengths seldom mesh persuasively.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/04/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's enough worthwhile labor expended, especially by the powerful cast, to make Hawk Is Dying difficult to dismiss, even when it's hard to take.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
03/29/07
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Isn't anywhere close to perfect, but giving yourself over to its performances is wonderfully rewarding.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
03/30/07
James Emanuel Shapiro
James Emanuel Shapiro
Reel.com

Goldberger and Giamatti strain too hard for strangeness.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
05/04/07
Bill Stamets
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ultimately, this inscrutable film is just an exercise in self-indulgence.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/31/07
Doris Toumarkine
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International
 
 
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