Tense ‘Hawk’ a Triumph for Mirren

More likely than not, the international acclaim accorded Helen Mirren for her portrayal of a hard-edged London police detective in the “Prime Suspect” miniseries on PBS has triggered the American theatrical release of the 1992 BBC production “The Hawk.” It’s a gratifying psychological thriller with a glorious Mirren as a blue-collar Manchester housewife who begins to suspect her husband may in fact be the elusive serial killer who has been terrifying the area by savage, apparently random killings of wives and mothers not unlike Mirren’s own Annie Marsh.

Peter Ransley’s adaptation of his novel not only keeps you guessing--every time you think the plot’s telegraphing itself you’re left confounded--but also enables director David Hayman to come through with a film that’s exceptionally fluid and visual for a British production.

“The Hawk,” which takes its title from its serial killer’s grisly signature of putting out his victims’ eyes, is also a deft, shrewd observation of a woman too modest to be fully aware of her innate superiority to her crass husband (George Costigan), her nosy mother-in-law (Rosemary Leach) and insinuating brother-in-law (Owen Teale). Self-reliant, hard-working and forthright, Annie is a firm believer in knowing one’s place and in being a conscientious wife and mother--she has two children. She may be at a loss as to say whether she and her husband are truly in love but is quick to assert that they are happily married.

The instant, however, that Mirren starts allowing herself even to consider the possibility that her husband may be a serial killer she is confronted with an overwhelming sense of self-doubt. How can she even begin to think of trusting her instincts when it has not been that long since she experienced postpartum depression in the wake of the birth of her last child severe enough to require institutionalization? She finds escalating fear and uncertainty in a mounting war with her natural assertiveness and common sense.

Mirren plays the likable, intelligent but beleaguered Annie with absolute conviction and sympathy while “The Hawk” gradually increases its suspense until it has you on the edge of your seat before you realize it. Hayman wisely resists pretension at every turn; that “The Hawk” is so resolutely a genre film through and through serves only to enable it to deliver all the better its traditional-style thrills and chills.

* MPAA rating: R, for language and terror. Times guidelines: It contains adult themes; although not graphic in its violence, the film is too intense for children.

‘The Hawk’

Helen Mirren: Annie Marsh

George Costigan: Stephen Marsh

Melanie Till: Norma

Owen Teale: Ken Marsh

Rosemary Leach: Mrs. Marsh

A Castle Hill Pictures release of a BBC production. Director David Hayman. Producers Ann Wingate, Eileen Quinn. Executive producers Mark Shivas, Eric Fellner, Larry Kirstein, Kent Walwin. Screenplay by Peter Ransley; based on his novel. Cinematographer Andrew Dunn. Editor Justin Krish. Costumes Pam Tait. Music Nick Bicat. Production designer David Myerscough-Jones. Art director Charmian Adams. Running time: 1 hour, 26 minutes.

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