2006
Written by Harry Crews
Directed by Julian Goldberger
Starring Paul Giamatti, Michelle Williams, Michael Pitt, Rusty Scwhimmer

Paul Giamatti is one of my all-time favorite actors (I implore you to see Sideways and American Splendor if you haven't already). A few months ago, Aaron read an interview with Giamatti in which he said that his favorite movie he ever did was The Hawk is Dying, which hadn't been released in the US, despite being a success at Cannes. The movie was finally recently released, and we rented it immediately.

Giamatti plays George Gattling, an owner of an auto-upholstering business, who lives in Florida with his sister, Precious (Schwimmer), and her autistic 20-year old son, Fred (Pitt). Fred's father left him and Precious when he was young, so George has raised Fred and loves him like his own son.

George's life is fairly mundane and meaningless, and he spends lots of time with Betty (Williams), a stoner college psychology student who fancies his life an interesting case study. One of George's only interests is training hawks, but he has unfortunate luck with them - the captured hawks refuse to eat and eventually starve to death.

When George and Fred finally capture a beautiful and dangerous female red-tailed hawk, George is thrilled and promises Fred that this one will not die. When tragedy strikes the family, George decides that the only thing left in his life is the hawk.

He puts all of his energy into the hawk, refusing to eat or sleep until the hawk is trained. He channels his heartbreak and sorrow into a battle of wills with the hawk until nothing else matters.

I'll be honest - the first half of the film was very slow and didn't make much sense to me at first, and I found myself bored. But the second half of the movie picked up immensely and I ended up really enjoying it. The acting was first rate (Giamatti was FANTASTIC as usual, and Williams was impressive as well) and all of the scenes with the hawk were amazing.

If you're a Giamatti fan, and if you think you'll enjoy a slow, heartbreaking, but uplifting film, give this one a chance.