‘Wildcat’ (2024) Review – Maya And Ethan Hawke Combine For A Spiritual Exploration Into The Soul Of An Artist

Sometimes, a movie will come along and destroy your preconceived notions of what that type of film will be. The biopic, much derided, and for good reason, is a struggle for many. Many of them, sadly, are produced by family members or even a surviving person at the tail end of their career. One only needs to look as far as this month’s release of Back to Black to find some of the worst examples of the nature of the biopic. There are many pitfalls of the genre (insert Walk Hard jokes here) but that does not mean that it will always go poorly. Thankfully, Ethan Hawke’s directorial feature, Wildcat is an exception to the falling standards of the “based on a true story” subgenre.

Wildcat is the story of Flannery O’Connor, herself a storyteller, most famous for her short stories although she had a desperate desire to pen novels. The film never makes the mistake of being a womb-to-tomb story. Instead, it is focused on a particular two-year period in which she is struggling with her career, her faith, and her physical health. O’Connor is not an easy subject to tackle. Given her liberal use of racial slurs in her work, her brusqueness in personal interactions, and her strong faith; it takes an incredible performance, script, and direction to make her an approachable figure. Luckily, the film has all of this and more. 

Maya Hawke, who is either best known for being the child of movie stars or for Stranger Things, dives headlong into both the physical and mental personas of Flannery O’Connor so quickly and completely that you forget who she is entirely. She manages the countenance, the vocal quality, and the sheer presence of the writer with a near-perfect performance. This is no small feat, given the complex manner in which the story is told by screenwriters Ethan Hawke and Shelby Gaines. The film aims high, focusing on the intersection of spirituality and art, as well as telling the story of the author. It asks the difficult question, can a writer have a drive to succeed financially, as well as staying pure artistically and spiritually? The script weaves many of O’Connor’s short stories into the narrative, while Maya Hawke remains onscreen as the protagonist of her stories, usually alongside her mother (Laura Linney). This is a simple but very effective trick to show us how important her stories are to her internal life and how her family affected her external work.

Yes, there are dodgy moments of costume (especially one god-awful wig that Linney is strapped to), but the intricate use of the camera and light (from past Hawke collaborator Steve Cosens) makes that extremely easy to brush aside. It also helps that Ethan Hawke has a very game and excellent cast attached to this small-budget film. Standouts, besides Hawke, include Rafael Casal (perfect and electrifying in a brief role), Steve Zahn, and a surprise appearance from Liam Neeson.

As much as this is a film about writing, it is even more effective as a treatise on faith, ego, and the effects of our childhood. Although the film never focuses on O’Connor as a child, we see clearly how she was and continued to be impacted. It is made clear that her mother is the definition of “a good southern White woman” and everything that entails, including a healthy serving of down-home racism. Linney plays this superbly as we alternate between despising her and having a mild sense of understanding due to the time and place. Flannery clearly feels the same way and struggles mightily in that relationship. But her mother is not the only parent that has an effect.

O’Connor’s father, dead prior to the opening credits, has passed on (through no fault of his own) his illness of lupus to his daughter. The film brings clarity to how our protagonist is raised in a poisoned well, both physically and emotionally. Her mother’s faults affect her mind, and her father’s, her body. Due to this, and the world around her, she inhabits a sense of quiet, and then not-so-quiet, rage at nearly all times. In her safer moments, she pours it into her writing, creating a purity of art. At others, she is forced to interact with others, an almost literally painful enterprise. O’Connor is honest, about her faith, the world around her, and her art. She clearly states, in an important call to action, that “the truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” 

I am struck by how easily this could have gone wrong. It was clearly a passion project and Ethan Hawke was handpicked by his daughter to direct. Yet, it all comes together as if it was preordained. Wildcat is a film that is approachable to all viewers. Fans of the author will find numerous connections to her work. The very title is a beautiful callback and a clue to the film. It focuses on a man who is aware of his impending death, just as Flannery is throughout the runtime. There might be one namedrop too many (“A Good Man is Hard to Find,” I’m looking at you), but watching this film is an emotional and spiritual journey into ourselves, our place in the world of art, and our journey as a wounded people, poisoned at that same well of racism from which Flannery O’Connor was forced to drink. They provide no easy answers, but that is perfectly within the world of the author.  As she said, “You have to cherish the world at the same time that you struggle to endure it.” 

Even if the world of Flannery is a struggle, the film is truly worth cherishing. 

Wildcat will debut exclusively in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on May 3, 2024 courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories. The film will expand nationwide on May 10th. 

There are also early showings across the country with a live Q&A from director Ethan Hawke. See here for details.

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