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 24-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. Ensemble cast also includes Cooper Hoffman, Steve Zahn, Vincent D’Onofrio, among others.
“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, with Maya Hawke and Laura Linney each taking on a half-dozen interconnected roles.” —Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter
“Finds the father-daughter duo teaming up to beautifully emulate the experience of reading a collection of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories… A fascinating gem of a film that breaks down the conventions of the biopic genre. Hawke understands that the best way to understand an artist is through their work. This film not only accomplishes that, but it also succeeds in introducing viewers to the complexities of Flannery O’Connor’s work.” —Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
“The screenplay, written by Ethan Hawke and Shelby Gaines, is smart enough to lean into the contradictions of the woman and her work, but not to attempt to offer a definitive statement one way or another.” —Wendy Ide, Screen Daily