Wildcat
Wildcat is a new biographical drama film directed by Ethan Hawke and starring his daughter Maya Hawke in the title role of American novelist Flannery O’Connor.
The film made its debut at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2023, and is scheduled for a limited release in New York and Los Angeles on May 3, 2024. A wider theatrical release will follow.
Wildcat follows the life of writer Flannery O’Connor at a time when she was struggling to publish her first novel. It’s not a straightforward retelling of events as it sometimes blurs the line between fiction and reality. While this might be frustrating for fans of the writer, those new to her work may enjoy the creative way in which her story is told.
If you don’t know anything about Flannery O’Connor, here’s a brief rundown of the writer’s life and works.
Who is Flannery O’Connor?
Flannery O’Connor was born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia.
She grew up in a Roman Catholic family and lived in Savannah until her adolescence, which is when the family moved to rural Milledgeville because of the worsening of her father’s lupus condition.
O’Connor attended Peabody High School and graduated from there in 1942. She then entered Georgia State College for Women in an accelerated three-year program and graduated in June 1945 with a B.A. in sociology and English literature.
In 1945, she was accepted into the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, which is where she studied journalism and met many acclaimed writers.
O’Connor’s passion for writing led to her short but brilliant career.
Her first published work was a short story which was printed in a magazine in 1946.
Her first novel, ‘Wise Blood,’ was published in 1952. This darkly comic novel about religious beliefs tells the story of Hazel Motes, a discharged serviceman who abandons his Christian fundamentalist faith to become a preacher of antireligion in Tennessee. Here, he establishes the “Church Without Christ.” The book was later adapted into a film directed by John Huston in 1979.
Flannery’s only other novel was ‘The Violent Bear It Away,’ which was published in 1960. Her other published works were short stories, with one collection, ‘The Complete Stories,’ being released posthumously.
The writer died on August 3, 1964, at the age of 39. Her death was caused by complications from lupus, a chronic disease that she picked up from her father. She struggled with the condition for around 12 years but in that time, managed to complete more than two dozen short stories and two novels.
Ethan Hawke’s new film, Wildcat, dramatizes the writer’s struggle to write her first novel while also including scenes from her short fiction.
Have you seen Wildcat? What do you think of Flannery O’Connor’s works? Let us know in the comments below.