Review of The Hawk Is Dying (2007) by Peter P — 07 Aug 2008

[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].

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[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].