Wildcat

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Wildcat

Released May 3, 2024

1h 48m

Biography

Drama

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Popcornmeter

59%

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79 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Directed and co-written by four-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke, WILDCAT invites the audience to weave in and out of celebrated Southern Gothic writer Flannery O'Connor's mind as she ponders the great questions of her writing: Can scandalous art still serve God? Does suffering precede all greatness? Can illness be a blessing? In 1950, Flannery (Maya Hawke) visits her mother Regina (Laura Linney) in Georgia when she is diagnosed with lupus at twenty-four years old. Struggling with the same disease that took her father's life when she was a child and desperate to make her mark as a great writer, this crisis pitches her imagination into a feverish exploration of belief. As she dives deeper into her craft, the lines between reality, imagination, and faith begin to blur, allowing Flannery to ultimately come to peace with her situation and heal a strained relationship with her mother.

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Critics Consensus

Wildcat brings careful craft and solid acting to bear on an admirable idea; unfortunately, it still struggles to present a compelling picture of a brilliant author's inner life.

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Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

Wildcat will be a far richer experience for audiences already familiar with O’Connor’s work. For neophytes, there’s still much to enjoy, but the thematic resonance between story and storyteller gets a little lost.

Rated: 3/5

May 31, 2024

Full Review

Richard Roeper

Chicago Sun-Times

With pinpoint production design, makeup and wardrobe capturing the 1950s time period, exquisite cinematography and brilliant work by talented actors who get to sink their teeth into some meaty roles, Wildcat is an inventive and haunting mood piece...

Rated: 3/4

May 17, 2024

Full Review

Adam Kempenaar

Filmspotting

Hawke vividly depicts what one deduces from O’Connor’s brash, unrepentantly idiosyncratic work – the blurring of her imagination and reality.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 17, 2024

Full Review

Dave Giannini

Geek Vibes Nation

It takes an incredible performance, script, and direction to make her an approachable figure. Luckily, the film has all of this and more.

Rated: 9.5/10

Jul 19, 2025

Full Review

Tynan Yanaga

Film Inquiry

What Wildcat has is something so often absent from both film and art these days. It’s not squeamish about the tough conversations nor does it skirt over the most prickly issues.

Apr 7, 2025

Full Review

JD Duran

InSession Film

There's enough cogency to its biopic throughlines that makes her story accessible and poignant, but there's a lot about the narrative structure here that poetically blurs the line between fiction and reality.

Rated: A-

Sep 13, 2024

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Mr. Hollywood

Collections of shorts goes nowhere but I guess thats the point of a collection of shorts. They are all their own unique story. The main story of the author writing the short stories does not add much but acting is good.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/21/24

Full Review

Beth

Loved it! I am a fan of Flannery OConnors work and somewhat familiar with her life. Not sure how someone unaware of her would rate the movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/12/24

Full Review

Roy J

This movie isn't for Flannery's fans or for novices to learn about her. This movie is a weekend project between Ethan Hawke and his daughter.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/06/24

Full Review

Wendy H

In a Q &A with Writer/Director Ethan Hawke after the movie, he described O'Connors attempt to reconcile her faith and her work as a writer in the question "Can I be in service to the form rather than what the form can do in service to me. "Can I be in service to the form rather than what the form can do in service to me." He seems to also son to satisfy this goal himself. The film is an homage to the writings of Flannery O'Connor, and also a sort of the love, appreciation, and inspiration both he and his daughter, Maya Hawke, have for the author. A beautifully crafted film that weaves imagination and reality together until they become one and the same, subtly daring us to question our own faith in what we believe to be real. After all, what reality can there ever be if we don't first imagine it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/05/24

Full Review

Tiffany S

Hampered by a low budget that can’t quite do justice to O’Conner’s imagination and supporting actors that can’t match the tone, but otherwise an excellent film. Maya Hawke gives a world-class performance as Flannery O’Conner. I recommend it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/04/25

Full Review

helder f

This biographical film captures the journey of a Southern writer as she struggles to publish her literary works. Despite her struggles, the main character lacks likability, possibly due to her embodiment of certain Southern traits that she occasionally expresses ambivalence about. The film fails to be a great movie. It appears incomplete and unfinished- possibly mirroring the protagonist’s incomplete life

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/16/25

Full Review

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Ethan Hawke

Director

Maya Hawke

Flannery O'Connor

Laura Linney

Regina

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Wildcat: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Directed and co-written by four-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke, WILDCAT invites the audience to weave in and out of celebrated Southern Gothic writer Flannery O'Connor's mind as she ponders the great questions of her writing: Can scandalous art still serve God? Does suffering precede all greatness? Can illness be a blessing? In 1950, Flannery (Maya Hawke) visits her mother Regina (Laura Linney) in Georgia when she is diagnosed with lupus at twenty-four years old. Struggling with the same disease that took her father's life when she was a child and desperate to make her mark as a great writer, this crisis pitches her imagination into a feverish exploration of belief. As she dives deeper into her craft, the lines between reality, imagination, and faith begin to blur, allowing Flannery to ultimately come to peace with her situation and heal a strained relationship with her mother.

Director: Ethan Hawke
Producer: Ryan Hawke, Joe Goodman, Cory Pyke, Karri O'Reilly
Screenwriter: Shelby Gaines, Ethan Hawke
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co: Renovo Media Group, Under the Influence Productions, Good Country Pictures, Kingdom Story Company
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 3, 2024, Limited
Runtime: 1h 48m

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