Review by Liz S

Starring Claire Foy and Brendan Gleeson; Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe

The film is based on the memoir of Helen MacDonald and describes how she feels saved by her intense relationship with a goshawk which she purchases shortly after the death of her father. Claire Foy's performance is only surpassed by the stunning beauty of the goshawk which she names Mabel. Helen retreats from her academic life and friendships in Cambridge to care for and train Mabel. The scenes of Foy handling the hawk are authentic and we are treated to intricate, close-up shots of the hawk's plumage and of its hunting flight. We feel Helen's anguish as the hawk flies away during training, believing it will not come back to her. The film does not contain the more complicated layers of the book but centres on the hawk with its icy gaze and we wonder at the exact nature of the bond between Helen and Mabel.