Wildcat


Directed by
Ethan Hawke
Produced by
Ethan Hawke, Ryan Hawke, Joe Goodman, Cory Pyke, Karri O'Reilly
Edited by
Barry Poltermann
Written by
Ethan Hawke, Shelby Gaines
Cinematography
Steve Cosens

 

Maya Hawke stars in and co-produced this imaginative depiction of crucially formative moments in the life of Flannery O’Connor, one of 20th century America’s most celebrated novelists and short-story writers. Writer- director Ethan Hawke and co-screenwriter Shelby Gaines entertainingly dramatize scenes from O’Connor’s admired stories—The Life You Save May Be Your Own, Revelation, Good Country People and Everything That Rises Must Converge—placing them in the poignant context of O’Connor’s intense religious concerns, and her struggle with the dire illness that threatened to overwhelm her. Ms. Hawke triumphantly embodies the artist’s unmatched combination of bitter humor, incisive intelligence and spiritual vulnerability. Touching support is provided by Philip Ettinger as O’Connor’s distant but admiring friend, the poet Robert ‘Cal’ Lowell, and by Laura Linney as Flannery’s mother Regina, who barely comprehended her daughter’s genius but was heroically dedicated to keeping her alive.

Wildcat‘s world premiere was held at the 50th Telluride Film Festival in September, 2023.  

Sometimes when you finish reading a good novel or collection of short stories, you look forward to picking it up again it in a year or two or 20, to reenter its world and discover new wisdom in its powers of observation, new flashes of light in its turns of phrase. Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat casts a similar spell, so rich is it in detail and nuance and creative juice. Drawing upon the distinctive voice of Flannery O’Connor, it’s a sublime portrait of a great writer, a movie I can’t wait to see again for its visual elegance, its electric leaps between an author’s life and her work, and the delicious, playful intensity of all the performances

Sheri Linden
The Hollywood Reporter

It’s the seriousness of its ambitions and the intellectual heft of its engagement with its subject that makes this under-the-radar entry a must-see.

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

Ethan Hawke’s blurring of biography and fiction illuminates the complex, brilliant mind of O’Connor as well as the society around her…

Andrew Quintana
Vanity Fair

A fascinating gem of a film that breaks down the conventions of the biopic genre.

Sophia Ciminello
Awardswatch

Hawke, cinematographer Steve Cosens and editor Barry Poltermann impressively worked out visual ways to make the changes in timeframes and settings blend almost imperceptibly among the stories.

Todd McCarthy
Deadline

More hall of broken mirrors than traditional literary biopic, Ethan Hawke’s mosaic portrait of the life and work of the Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor (Maya Hawke) is a suitably unconventional and challenging response to her writing. It’s a bold, intriguing approach that gets into the skin.

Wendy Ide
Screen