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 Videos & Photos

Movie Info

A man channels his feelings through an obsession with wild birds in this independent drama based on a novel by Harry Crews. Fortysomething George Gattling (Paul Giamatti) is an emotionally stunted man who makes his living doing auto upholstery and lives with his sister, Precious (Rusty Schwimmer), and her autistic son, Fred (Michael Pitt). Though George has an on-and-off relationship with Betty (Michelle Williams), a constantly stoned young woman just edging out of her teens, one of the few ways … More

Rating: Unrated
Genre: Art House & International, Drama
Directed By:
Written By: Julian Goldberger, Harold Crews
In Theaters:
On DVD: May 29, 2007
Runtime:
Strand Releasing

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Cast


as George Gattling

as Precious

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 Undergr...

as Nebbish Professor

as Ambulance Driver

as Little Boy

as Little Girl

as Girlfriend

as Gray Bony Lady
Show More Cast

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Critic Reviews for The Hawk Is Dying

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (11)

Goldberger and Giamatti strain too hard for strangeness.

Full Review… | May 4, 2007
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic

These strengths seldom mesh persuasively.

Full Review… | May 4, 2007
Chicago Reader
Top Critic

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… | April 5, 2007
AV Club
Top Critic

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

April 2, 2007
New York Times
Top Critic

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… | March 31, 2007
Time Out
Top Critic

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… | March 30, 2007
New York Post
Top Critic

Audience Reviews for The Hawk Is Dying

½

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.

romy861
Nicki Marie

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

bbcfloridabound
Bruce Bruce

Super Reviewer

Giamatti's great, but this is what happens when you smoke weed with a camera.

tsigur
Tim Sigur

Super Reviewer

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