Surreal Southern Gothic
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.
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.
- thalassafischer
- Aug 8, 2024