It’s easy for wonderful movies to get lost in the crowd during ‘award season’ and, unfortunately, this year it seems that Philippa Lowthorpe’s beautiful adaptation of Helen MacDonald’s 2014 memoir H is for Hawk has suffered this unfortunate fate.

H is for Hawk tells the story of how – on grieving the sudden death of her beloved father – Helen MacDonald took the unconventional decision to adopt and nurture a goshawk in an attempt to grieve and heal.

Claire Foy plays Helen, your typical mild-but-not-too-eccentric Cambridge lecturer whose whole demeanour takes a downward turn after her father’s death. Foy spends much of the movie striking a strong balancing act – Helen is both strong and weak, warm and sometimes startlingly cold, smart but also incredibly naïve and irresponsible. Helen is a real person, a human – not simply an imagined character – and Foy nails the portrayal in this regard.

Goshawks it turns out, are not the kind of bird one adopts for feathery fun. They are aloof, unattached and unemotional – a strange choice for someone grieving the loss of a parent, but it is the challenge that a goshawk (in this case, the twee-named Mabel) presents that gives Helen a new sense of purpose and – perhaps unintentionally – a distraction from her darker reality.

The story is an obvious dissection of grief, which, on paper, suggests a gloomy and rather depressing tale, and whilst the film doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of losing a loved one and the downward spiral a life can take in such circumstances, this is not a bleak film.

Firstly, there’s a very British charm about the whole thing. From the cobbles of Cambridge to the soaring countryside, H is for Hawk is worth a watch for the cinematography alone. But what really stands out are the scenes between Foy and the real goshawk used in the movie. Perhaps the most captivating (and certainly the most intense) moment is when Helen first introduces Mabel to her new home. She has cleared space in her living room, the curtains are drawn, everything has been adapted to make the space as safe as possible for this dangerous bird of prey. The tension as to how Mabel will react, is palpable – and knowing how unpredictable goshawks really are adds to the pressure and anticipation in a way no script could have penned out.

Beyond the scenes between Helen and Mabel is a beautiful depiction of friendship. The wonderful Denise Gough plays Christina, Helen’s best friend (still to this day, so I learnt from speaking with Helen in person) – a role that so easily could have been resigned to ‘quirky best friend’ but is given depth and heart by Gough’s performance. Christina does all that she can to support her grieving friend – from lifting her spirits to showing genuine concern. The crux of the movie may be the relationship between both Helen and her father, and Helen and Mabel but the heart comes from the scenes involving Christina.

There’s no denying that the subject matters of H is for Hawk can be off-putting: death, grief and coping don’t exactly scream feel-good viewing. But like MacDonald’s memoir, the beauty of nature, friendship and discovery elevate the story and gives it wings.

H is for Hawk is released in the UK on 23 January 2026.