In the spring of 2007, as a means of coping with her grief after the sudden death of her beloved father — with whom she shared many interests, most notably birding — 27-year-old Cambridge research fellow Helen Macdonald purchased a young Eurasian goshawk, intending to train it.
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| Having spent weeks (months?) training her goshawk to trust her, and respond to commands, Helen (Claire Foy) prepares to let the bird loose for its first outdoor kill. |
Macdonald ultimately recounted her experience in an award-winning 2014 memoir which became a best-seller within a fortnight.
Her saga now has become a deeply poignant, emotionally shattering and unexpectedly exhilarating film — of the same title — under the careful direction of Philippa Lowthorpe, who shares scripting credit with Emma Donoghue. MacDonald is brought to life via a remarkably nuanced performance by Claire Foy, who runs a gamut of emotions during this saga.
We barely meet Helen’s father, longtime Daily Mirror photojournalist Alisdair Macdonald (Brendan Gleeson), before Claire — while at Cambridge — receives word that he died unexpectedly, while on assignment. Gathered alongside her mother (Lindsay Duncan) and brother James (Josh Dylan) in a funeral parlor, their mourning is briefly overcome by incredulous, shared laughter when the agent suggests a decorated “themed coffin.”
(This tacky, tone-deaf moment is Lowthorpe’s sole dose of macabre comic relief. I cringed at the notion that this actually may have occurred.)
Back at Cambridge, unable to focus on teaching, or finishing her fellowship — or even worrying about where she’ll live if she doesn’t finish — Claire decides that embracing an impossible challenge is the only way to endure getting through each day. Longtime friend and fellow falconer Stuart (Sam Spruell) thinks she’s crazy; goshawks are “the wildest and maddest of raptors ... the perfectly evolved psychopath.”
“Don’t even think about it,” he further cautions, “certainly not in your state.”
But Helen is undeterred. Accompanied by best friend Christina (Denise Gough), she drives to a Scottish quayside and purchases a young female goshawk from a bloke who looks more than a little dodgy.
“This feels like a drug deal,” Christina observes — Gough’s delivery of that line is note-perfect — and she isn’t far wrong.
(This is the point at which some viewers may balk, and — in fairness — opinions about falconry are divided. Animal rights advocates argue that the practice sabotages the birds’ natural behavior, and induces stress via confinement; falconers counter that their ethical, conservation-minded “partnership” keeps the birds’ welfare in mind, with the ultimate goal of returning them to the wild.)
As Stuart feared, Helen’s work with the goshawk — she names it Mabel — becomes stressful, obsessive and all-consuming, to the point where we begin to fear for her health. Foy persuasively depicts this slide into what soon feels like something harmfully manic. (The actual Helen Macdonald has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.)
At the same time, Helen’s agonizingly slow progress with Mabel is fascinating, and there’s no denying the wary intelligence and obvious cunning of this magnificent bird: the rapidly twitching head and steady gaze that misses nothing; the razor-sharp beak and claws specifically designed to shred flesh.
“They live at 10 times our speed,” Helen explains, to an incredulous Christina.
Early days are the worst; Mabel, refusing to eat, loses weight. When that crisis passes, the moment is exhilarating; we share Helen’s delight. Thereafter, often with Stuart’s help, Helen’s days are consumed with carefully tabulated weigh-ins, and incremental bits of progress.
Mabel is full of surprises, none more unexpected than an abrupt willingness to play “catch” with balls of crumpled paper: a truly joyful moment.
These scenes are intercut frequently with flashbacks that demonstrate the depth of Helen’s relationship with her father (her younger self, in some scenes, played by the equally engaging Eden Hamilton). Gleeson is terrific in this role, as we get to know Alisdair better; he’s excited by all manner of things — particularly birding — and we easily understand how his daughter can’t help being similarly enthusiastic and enthralled.
They’re the perfect parent/child couple, which makes the adult Helen’s sense of loss more palpable.
But it also becomes obvious, as the days and weeks pass, that Helen’s singular focus has become self-destructive. An unannounced visit by her mother and brother leaves them appalled by her flat’s messy squalor. Foy’s features become drawn and desperate; despite having embarked on this project as a means of solace, that clearly isn’t working. Indeed, her grief is getting worse.
Something else will be required, to help get past the shattering loss. But what? And what of Mabel?
Production work on this film must’ve been fascinating, in order to obtain so many captivating sequences. “Hawk handler” Lloyd Buck employed four birds to fill this co-starring role. “Conventional” cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen and wildlife cinematographer Mark Payne-Gill capture numerous breathtaking, amazing sequences ... along with frequent close-ups of Mabel’s expressive, intelligent regality.
You’ll be tempted to wonder if some outdoor sequences were sweetened via CGI: particularly Mabel’s breathtaking, explosive pursuit of a game bird through a dense forest. (Goshawks can reach speeds of 40 to 50 miles per hour.) But no; every shot is authentic, with ground and aerial footage achieved via gimbal systems and drones.
Similarly, Foy clearly handles the early, most difficult sequences — our eyes wide with awe — as the hooded young Mabel, despite being fastened to her falconer’s gauntlet, repeatedly batters her face and body with wildly flapping wings, while trying to escape.
In short, the process of making this film, is as impressive as the story’s emotional heft.
We’ve enjoyed several recent, well-crafted sagas of damaged individuals achieving redemption and/or solace via the intervention of an animal; My Penguin Friend, The Penguin Lessons and The Friend immediately come to mind. This well-crafted, often exhilarating film certainly belongs in their company.
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