The Hawk Is Dying (2006)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Paul Giamatti lends his character some pathos, but The Hawk is Dying is otherwise too ambiguous and morose to be enjoyable.
The Hawk Is Dying Photos
Movie Info
Cast
as George Gattling
as Betty
as Precious
as Fred
as Dr. Leep
as Marvin Hill
as Preacher Roe
as Alonzo
as Peter Sweet
as Ma Gattling
as Billy Bob
as Football Player
as Young Female Undergrad
as Nebbish Professor
as Ambulance Driver
as Little Boy
as Professor
as Little Girl
as Girlfriend
as Gray Bony Lady
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Critic Reviews for The Hawk Is Dying
All Critics (23) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (16) | DVD (1)
Goldberger and Giamatti strain too hard for strangeness.
These strengths seldom mesh persuasively.
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.
Imagine an entire film infected with hangdog sensibility, unrelieved by humor or narrative interest, and you have The Hawk Is Dying.
For performing half this film with a predatory bird perched and flapping angrily on his arm, Paul Giamatti deserves some sort of award.
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.
Audience Reviews for The Hawk Is Dying
This was a good film, but I don't know if it was one I would recommend to everyone. It is kind of slow, and not the most thrilling of topics, I guess, with the main character being obssessed with training a hawk! However, the cast are all very good in this, particularly Paul Giamatti and Michelle Williams, and it does ring true. I have to confess I only watched it because Michael Pitt is in it, it is not exactly something that would have leapt of the shelf at me otherwise, and since he's only in it for about half an hour, and not exactly the most interesting role I ever saw him, (he is good, but he's kind of underwritten. Well I guess only so much you can do with an autistic character who barely speaks. Kind of wasted in that part, really), so that isn't a recommendation for other fans either! However, I actually was interested enough in the characters and story to watch the rest of it and see what happened, and I did find it worthwhile, although I can't imagine wanting to sit down and watch it again anytime soon.
Super Reviewer
[font=Century Gothic]In "The Hawk Is Dying," George Gattling(Paul Giamatti) owns a car detail establishment in Gainesville, Florida, lives with his sister Precious(Rusty Schwimmer) and trains hawks in his spare time but with little success to date. In each of his previous attempts, the hawk has died but coming upon a red tailed hawk with his mentally handicapped nephew Fred(Michael Pitt), he is willing to give it another shot. Despite his obsession, he attends a party with his sister, leaving Fred in the care of Betty(Michelle Williams), a psychology student from the local university...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"The Hawk Is Dying" is an oddly beguiling movie thanks primarily to another superb performance from Paul Giamatti who remains the most fearless actor around, showing that it is possible to act with a bird on his arm. He plays a character obsessed with accomplishing something in his empty life while being haunted by mortality, surrounded by intellectuals that he looks up to. However, this does not explain why George has not been beaten to a pulp by an angry mob of animal rights activists yet but it does explain why Betty is drawn to him since he is providing enough material for a master's thesis, doctoral dissertation and several textbooks. Regardless, George does require professional help.[/font]
Super Reviewer
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Thats what I thought after the first 30 min, the 2nd 30 min, and the last 30 min. I have more to do with my life then watch this, don't I? I guess not or I wouldn't have finished it. Save Me Somebody
Super Reviewer
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