Trama

When stricken with a family tragedy, George becomes obsessed with taming a wild, red-tail hawk. In a tour-de-force performance he locks himself into a battle of wills with a fierce creature that would rather die than succumb.

George Gatling (Paul Giamatti) works as an upholsterer, but his true calling is the ancient art of falconry. He shares that passion with his beloved nephew, Fred (Michael Pitt), but their previous attempts to train a wild bird have all met with failure. The two capture a magnificent red-tailed hawk, but then a horrible tragedy devastates George. Utterly grief-stricken, he refuses to eat or sleep until he wins the hawk's trust.—Anonymous

Fortysomething George Gattling (Paul Giamatti) is an emotionally stunted man who makes his living as an upholsterer while living with his sister, Precious (Rusty Schwimmer), and her autistic son, Fred (Michael Pitt). George loves to capture and train birds, so when Fred tragically dies in a drowning accident, George channels his grief into his new obsession, a striking red-tailed hawk. As George struggles to keep the magnificent hawk in captivity and keep it safe while trying to ensure that it obeys his commands, he's finally able to connect with the sense of loss that has haunted him since the death of Fred.—Anonymous

George Gattling is a man out of place in the world and out of place in his own skin. An auto-upholsterer by trade, he lives with his divorced sister Precious, and her 20 year-old autistic son, Fred. He's also the unwitting case study of a "life-gone-wrong" for Betty, a young psychology student who works at his shop. George seeks salvation in hawks. He dreams of capturing and training the noble birds of prey. An ancient art that requires precision, falconry is the obsession he shares with Fred. In the quiet pre-dawn tracking of the birds, George Gattling feels like a man temporarily freed from the absurdity of civilized life. After several years of failed attempts, George and Fred capture the most magnificent bird they have ever seen - the red-tailed hawk. That night, George experiences a tragedy greater than he's ever known. Grief stricken, George sees his only chance to survive tied together with the bird. He becomes determined to tame her - and to do that he will not eat or sleep, nor will she, until it's all over. At his weakest moment, George locks himself into a battle of wills with the only creature on earth that would rather die than submit. To the rest of the world, it appears George has gone mad; the closer he gets to achieving success, the crazier his family thinks he's become. Betty is the only one who realizes that George must take himself to the bottom to truly be saved. She watches as George succumbs to a world where the senses are awakened and emotions are unchecked...a world where one can see and feel the "blood of things." The Hawk Is Dying is based on the book by Harry Crews, one of America's great contemporary authors.—Anonymous