Wildcat

I struggled to understand Maya Hawke who croaks and whispers in a thickly-accented incoherent drawl. Subtitles reveal a clunky yet occassionally interesting script full of overwrought, flowery dialogue that often shines. Unfortunately, it's a story without much impact, especially if you're unfamiliar with O'Connor (as I am). The plot is fragmented into non-linear episodes that highlight her various struggles; professional, personal, historical and theological. But they never really get beyond surface level. Ethan Hawke should be commended for his blend of dialogue, music and imagery to create a hypnotic feel. It's very heavy on post-production filters, sadly, which smothers the otherwise decent photography. I found it slow, over-cooked and bland. But it's a 'feel' movie and if you like the vibes of the trailer, it's basically two hours of that.

I was unfamiliar with Flannery O'Connor, an American novelist and short story writer, before watching this film which is not surprising considering I'm not a reader of novels. I am a fan of biopics, however, so I decided to give it a watch. First off, hat's off to Maya Hawke for her stunning portrayal of not only O'Connor but a handful of other characters that appeared in brief, captivating scenes that O'Connor was dreaming up during the events of the film, an inventive choice by Maya's father, Ethan Hawke, who directed it. All in all, I very much enjoyed Wildcat and learning about the life and struggles of this iconic American writer.

Wildcat is a series of images combining the true story of the life of Flannery O'Connor with snippets of her popular short stories, brilliantly told in context of the situations Flannery lived and the people whom she based her characters upon. It's a moving portrait of one woman's internal struggle with introversion, darkness, depression and physical illness as she strove to grow in her art. This film reveals how illness and isolation allowed Flannery O'Connor to flourish as a writer in contrast to the way that travel and romance failed her talent. Her faith is a central theme though she strays frequently with her seemingly uncharitable attitudes towards most other people, ranging from the ignorant racists and shallow social climbers that surrounded her in the American South to the clever literary types she encountered while living in larger cities. I don't think it will appeal at all to anyone who doesn't know who Flannery O'Connor is, or to people who haven't at least become familiar with some of her fiction. It would be too confusing either as a straight biopic or even as a coherent study of her literary accomplishments. If anything it may encourage a re-reading or deeper examination of O'Connor's stories. Maya Hawke gives a convincing performance but also plays Flannery O'Connor so, so ugly. I think there's something truly awkward about Maya Hawke - ironically the child of two parents who were beautiful Hollywood stars in their youth - so it may have been Hawke's natural ugliness overshadowing her acting. Portraying a 24-25 year old Flannery, she looks much more like the withered and prematurely aged writer prior to her death at 39 which is unsettling.

source: Wildcat

A fascinating take on an author's book-to-film adaptation, "Wildcat" felt equally relevant and artistic. It conveyed a depth of emotion without making it seem too obvious. The subtlety worked wonders for its script, especially for its characters. Giving Flannery O'Connor a bookish charm and quiet gravitas, Maya Hawke did exceptional work in this role. She had a certain aura about her that I can't quite explain - perhaps an auric link to the fact that her parents are the immensely talented Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. Maya also roleplayed various fictional characters in different sequences of the movie. On a major note, Ethan Hawke wrote and directed "Wildcat" 2023. In case you're wondering, Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964) is an actual person. This American novelist and short-story writer was renowned for her work, which was typically set in the rural American South. Her writing bottled poignant elements like isolation and spirituality. "Wildcat" is based on Flannery's short stories and is set in 1950s New York. Laura Linney was a force of nature. She gave distinct and nuanced performances as multiple fictional characters in Flannery's mind, including the 'real life' Regina (Flannery's mum). Comparing Linney's "Wildcat" characters to the roles in which I've previously seen her made her multi-performances in this movie feel just as weighty. Cooper Hoffman (as Manley Pointer) brought amazing contrast value to the mix. His presence was further enriched by the fact that he's the son of the late-great Philip Seymour Hoffman. A handful of high-profile artists lent their own moments to this movie. They delivered noteworthy, albeit brief, performances that highlighted the essence of this script, which revolved around the writer Flannery O'Connor's penchant for eclectic but truthful storytelling. Attraction and repression (just enough of both) were notable tropes in "Wildcat". Such tropes tied in well with how novelists often live and do things vicariously through their characters. Flannery O'Connor was a remarkable writer who faced various struggles and uncertainties head on, all the way until she passed away from Lupus. It genuinely felt nice to see her story being told in "Wildcat". --- --- --- Remarkable performances from Philip Ettinger (as Robert "Cal" Lowell), Levon Hawke (as Obadiah Elihue; a fictional character), Vincent D'Onofrio (as a fictional character), Alessandro Nivola (as a publishing editor), Steve Zahn (as a fictional character), Christine Dye (as Duchess; Regina's sister), and Rafael Casal (as O. E. Parker; a fictional character).

source: Wildcat

A weird movie based on the work ok some author only intelectual people know, there is a lot of cameos by friends of the director Ethan Hawke, his daughter is good in this, she is clearly not a nepobaby like others, she knows how to act, the rest of cameos are fine, especially Neeson and Zach, overall it's just a poetic and interesting movie, its hard to follow, but its kinda worth watching it some raining sunday after exercising. Its the type of movie to watch while you gaming There is a couple of boring religious stuff, other than that it's a good time in my books. Another decent Hawke directional movie.

As one reviewer has stated, Flannery was greatly influenced by her theological/spiritual beliefs (Catholic/Christian) and these beliefs are reflected in the stories and characters we meet in her stories. Without this understanding the reader might not fully comprehend what she is expressing in her stories nor the depth of what she is writing about. As is stated by Flannery in the film Wildcats, some make the mistake of believing that Christianity is like a "warm blanket" in a cold world, whereas Christianity teaches that life is difficult and can be painful (the cross) but there is salvation and hope for all.

Wildcat is the story of Flannery O'Connor (Maya Hawke), a Southern Catholic writer who lived from 1925 to 1964 and was disabled by Lupus in her later years. Although the movie shows O'Connor traveling to Iowa and New York to further her writing career, most of the plot takes place in her family's home as she types away on multiple drafts of her stories while the disease takes its toll. O'Connor is shown as socially awkward, and her mother and others cannot comprehend the motivations for her fiction. Possessing a strong faith, she explores the bizarre and twisted ways in which people can be affected by religion. Interspersed with slow-moving scenes of O'Connor's life (non-chronological) are scenes from her fiction, acted out by the same cast of characters. Where the real segues into the fictional is sometimes hard to discern. The fictional scenes provide some insight into O'Connor's mindset but, having not read her writing in many years, I was hoping for even more insight into the influences on her writing (I probably hoped for too much). The movie is a portrait of a troubled soul that will interest her devoted readers and perhaps entice others to sample her offbeat fiction.

As my title suggests, it is hard to describe how I feel about this movie. By the middle I was overwhelmed with emotion. By the end I was meditating on life. This movie is so profound, original, well-crafted and executed. Melding her stories with her life may be difficult for some to follow but hang in there. As Flannery says in her opening comments, fiction is reality. The fiction writer that she was was a dark soul who lived to dig deep and find meaning in every aspect of life. Whether the meaning was positive or negative didn't matter. She had to live as long as she could and created other lives to live them as well. After seeing the movie I had to come home, sit outside and contemplate.