New This Week
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

38 12 Rounds
xx Baby on Board
xx Bob Funk
62 Cherry Blossoms
38 Confessions of a Shopaholic
38 Crossing Over
38 Dark Streets
58 Defiance
45 Fanboys
31 Fired Up
37 Forever Strong
34 Friday the 13th
72 Gran Torino
47 He's Just Not That Into You
47 Inkheart
52 International, The
45 Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
50 Madea Goes to Jail
51 Morning Light
51 My Bloody Valentine 3-D
29 New in Town
28 Nobel Son
40 Outlander
39 Paul Blart: Mall Cop
56 Phoebe in Wonderland
36 Pink Panther 2
xx Powder Blue
69 Revolutionary Road
20 Spinning Into Butter
17 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
64 Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
63 Tokyo!
74 Two Lovers
56 Valkyrie
91 Waltz with Bashir
22 What Goes Up

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Hawk Is Dying, The
Strand Releasing


8.7

based on 9 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Paul Giamatti, Michelle Williams, Michael Pitt, Karl Anthony, P.J. Lalka, Marc Macaulay, Rusty Schwimmer, and Robert Wisdom

George Gattling (Giamatti) finds little fulfillment as an auto upholsterer, the patriarch of a broken family, and the occasional lover of a lonely psychology student (Williams). When stricken with a family tragedy, George becomes obsessed with taming a wild, red-tail hawk. At his weakest moment, he locks himself into a battle of wills with a fierce creature that would rather die than succumb. (Strand Releasing)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Julian Goldberger Harry Crews (novel)
DIRECTED BY:	Julian Goldberger
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 29, 2007 Theatrical: March 30, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	112 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Nominated, Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic), 2006 Sundance Film Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

TV Guide Ken Fox

Goldberger, who made his debut with the similarly gritty and deliberately unpolished "Trans," tries to pull the novel's concerns to the surface, but much of its subtlety is lost. Giamatti, however, delivers yet another superb performance, turning what might have been a freak show into an unexpectedly moving experience.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

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.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

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.

Village Voice Nathan Lee

I won't pretend it makes for a happy night at the cinema, and it may require a leap of faith to succumb to Goldberger's spell. But I leapt, and found it enthralling up to the point where this legitimately weird movie capitulates to the most conventional catharsis. I'd rather watch Goldberger fail than a hundred others succeed.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

For all the effort Giamatti gives in making George a convincing character, the movie itself, never quite gets off the ground. The feel is too deliberately peculiar, and Goldberger's detached style never gives us a reason to invest ourselves in anyone but George.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

Set in North Florida and based on a book by Harry Crews, The Hawk Is Dying is a dreary study of male angst groaning beneath the weight of its own symbolism.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Goldberger's stubbornly insular script - adapted from a novel by Harry Crews - might have fared better on stage, where the story would feel more contained than suffocating. But by the time you crawl across this finish line, you'll know just how those sluggish the birdsfeel.

The Hollywood Reporter James Greenberg

Loaded with obtuse symbolism, the film is not only hard to understand, it isn't much fun trying to figure it out.

Variety David Rooney

Already gasping for breath in its opening scenes, picture takes two bleak, unyielding hours to finally expire.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Tom T. gave it a10:
I thought this was a very beautiful and moving film. I loved the photography and all of the visual detalis. Paul Giamatti, Michelle Williams and Michael Pitt are all terrific in their roles, as is the supporting cast. I really felt I was in Florida with them, feeling the lead character's pain. The ending is beautiful.

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page

Hawk Is Dying, The Strand Releasing

Hawk Is Dying, The
Strand Releasing