Content Warning: “Wildcat” contains strong language, scenes of violence and mature content that may not be suitable for all viewers. The film is not rated. Viewer discretion is advised.
Diving into the deep enigmatic world of well-known Catholic author Flannery O’Connor and her iconic Southern Gothic short stories, Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat offers a gripping exploration of Catholic themes amid the backdrop of human brokenness. Exploring her idiosyncratic mind and worldview, the film attempts to give the viewer an inner look at the peculiar author’s mind.
Starring Maya Hawke as O’Connor, the director invites viewers to journey alongside O’Connor as we travel with her character from New York to Georgia to visit her mother, with whom she has a difficult relationship. Shortly after arriving in Georgia, O’Connor’s mother Regina, played by Laura Linney, and her aunt, played by Christine Dye, encourage her to write a book like Gone with the Wind, because Flannery’s stories “leave a bad taste” in her reader’s mouths. Flannery roles her eyes and mutters that you aren’t supposed to eat her stories.
Emerging throughout the film are several of O’Connor’s iconic stories that built her literary reputation including “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” “Good Country People,” “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” “Revelation,” “Parker’s Back,” and “The Enduring Chill.” The lead actors who depict O’Connor and her family also play the protagonists in the short stories alongside the side characters Flannery encounters in her real life.
Although O’Connor’s work often may be taken as gruesome or unsettling, she depicts the harsh reality of living in a broken but redeemed world. Her works show the reality of society within the American South at the time, showing the effects of physical poverty and racism on a community.
The film follows O’Connor’s painful journey from aspiring New York author to a woman stripped of her independence as she’s left questioning her purpose on earth and her faith in a God she’s trying to please. She herself embodies the essence of her own characters. Through moments of intense violence and raw emotion, Hawke captures the essence of O’Connor’s writing, immersing the audience in a world where darkness and light struggle to claim souls. Hawke delivers a thought-provoking film that challenges viewers to confront the complexities of redemption, suffering and grace.
Although it is questionable how accurate the projection of her own experiences into her stories is to O’Connor’s life, one could assume that the line between O’Connor’s life and stories might have been blurrier than we can know.
Shortly after her return to her childhood home in Georgia, O’Connor is diagnosed with Lupus — the same disease that prematurely ended her father’s life. As her mother steps in to care for her, we see O’Connor’s inner struggle as she tries to deny her Southern upbringing, while simultaneously clinging to the comfort of familiarity. Expressing a universal human experience, we get a glimpse of O’Connor’s struggle with her fallen nature. The same broken tendencies are manifested in her characters, and oftentimes, if we look closely, in ourselves as well.
Nonetheless, at the heart of the film lies the theme of redemption, as the characters grapple with their own moral complexities and search for meaning in a world often defined by sin and suffering. Hawke navigates this terrain, allowing the audience to witness moments of profound transformation in O’Connor’s characters amid their chaotic lives.
The performances in Wildcat are nothing short of extraordinary, with each actor fully embodying their respective roles. From Flannery as the tortured artist and protagonist to the dark figures that populate O’Connor’s world, the cast embraces the depth and nuance of their roles, forcing viewers to confront the ugly reality of their brokenness all while wrestling with the possibility of personal redemption. O’Connor’s stories and characters stay with the reader, prodding them to explore the inner workings of their own hearts.
Wildcat is a testament to the enduring power of O’Connor’s work and a captivating exploration of the human condition. Ethan Hawke proves himself once again as a director, delivering a film that is as thought-provoking as it is haunting.
True to O’Connor’s fashion, each short story depicted in the film ends the moment grace enters in, forcing the viewer to place their hope in the characters’ conversions. Perhaps this is why both O’Connor and her stories are still captivating today. The film is raw and shows what it means to wrestle with our own inadequacies. With its unwavering portrayal of human frailty, this is a film that lingers in the mind long after the final frame.