Wildcat: Film on Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor yields mixed results

By OSV News - OSVNews

By John Mulderig, OSV News

NEW YORK (OSV News) | A blending of historical facts and Southern gothic fiction proves unstable in the biographical and literary drama "Wildcat" (Oscilloscope). As a result, director and co-writer Ethan Hawke achieves only mixed results as he seeks to introduce viewers to the life and works of Catholic author Flannery O'Connor.

Given the high rank she enjoys among 20th-century American writers, especially on the basis of her masterful short stories, O'Connor's career is certainly deserving of attention. Nor does the primary fault for the unsatisfying nature of "Wildcat" lie with Hawke's daughter Maya's portrayal of the scribe, whose intriguing persona the actress succeeds in capturing.

Instead the original aesthetic sin detectable here is one of strategy. In crafting their screenplay, the elder Hawke and his script collaborator Shelby Gaines ill-advisedly attempt to interweave scenes from O'Connor's real experiences with dramatizations of the tales she penned. The reality-based elements mostly work, the fictitious ones, by contrast, fall flat.

Thus audiences will likely be engaged by the movie's recounting of O'Connor's struggle to publish her first novel as well as the narrative of her battle with lupus, the disease to which she would succumb in 1964, aged only 39. The illness made O'Connor dependent on her mother, Regina (Laura Linney), with whom she enjoyed a close yet conflicted relationship.

Like many others, Regina seems to have been somewhat bewildered by her daughter's vibrant but eccentric creative vision. A studious reader of both scripture and the "Summa Theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas, O'Connor was at once fascinated and repelled by the do-it-yourself approach to Christianity she observed in the then-overwhelmingly Protestant South.

Drawing on O'Connor's "A Prayer Journal," published in 2013, Hawke manages to convey the seriousness with which she regarded her heartfelt beliefs. In fact, one of the picture's most compelling exchanges takes place between a gravely ailing O'Connor and local clergyman Father Flynn (Liam Neeson).

Sequences adapted from O'Connor's writings, on the other hand, are generally ineffectual. In some cases, this is because they are too heavily narrated, leaving them stranded between page and screen.

Still, for all its flaws, "Wildcat" does have some educational value, especially for those unfamiliar with O'Connor's spiritual striving, physical suffering and impressive legacy. Given that problematic elements are relatively few, moreover, it's possibly an acceptable choice for mature adolescents.

The film contains scenes of sensuality, several uses of profanity and a few milder oaths. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by OSV News.

"Civil War" (A24)

Engrossing but hard-edged dystopian drama follows a celebrated photojournalist (Kirsten Dunst) as, in the company of two veteran colleagues (Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson) and a youthful professional neophyte (Cailee Spaeny), she sets out to chronicle the last stages of a highly destructive second American civil war. Writer-director Alex Garland uses the mentoring relationship that develops between Dunst's character and Spaeny's to explore the psychological and ethical complexities of frontline journalism. His depiction of the mayhem the quartet encounters on its journey toward a besieged Washington, however, is distressingly realistic. Much graphic, gory violence, including torture, gruesome images, a couple of profanities, a few milder oaths, pervasive rough language, numerous crude terms.

The OSV News classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

 

"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" (Warner Bros.)

In this dystopian epic, Anya Taylor-Joy plays a warrior whose kidnapping as a child (Alyla Browne) left her in the clutches of a ruthless warlord (Chris Hemsworth) who exposed her to his brutalizing methods of gaining and maintaining power. Thus hardened and armed with formidable fighting skills, as a grown-up she has a series of adventures among other, equally savage barbarian leaders battling for scarce natural and military resources before allying herself with, and falling for, a more civilized figure (Tom Burke). Director and co-writer George Miller's prequel to his 2015 film "Mad Max: Fury Road" continues to limn an imagined future full of dust and rust and mostly devoid of morals. While sweeping and cinematically accomplished in some ways, it makes for a grueling journey across a stark landscape. Mature themes, including cannibalism, pedophilia and vengeance, much gory violence, torture, gruesome sights, nonscriptural religious beliefs, occasional crass language.

The OSV News classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" (Columbia)

Good-natured but thin fifth film in a supernatural comedy franchise that dates back to 1984. As the new generation of wraith wranglers introduced in 2021's "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" (led by Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd) confront a demonic pagan god who, if released from the ancient orb in which he's long been contained, has the power to launch a new ice age, the female half of the team's duo of teen siblings (Mckenna Grace) experiences adolescent growing pains. She also befriends a chess playing ghost (Emily Alyn Lind) who may not be all she seems. In following up on their reboot, returning co-writer Jason Reitman hands the director's baton to fellow scribe Gil Kenan. While their sequel lacks the buoyancy of its predecessor, the movie's implicit lessons about the value of teamwork, the importance of family concord and the need to balance young people's desire for freedom with prudence are perfectly in order. Much thoroughly stylized violence, oodles of occult gibberish, a glimpse of partial nudity, a few sexual references, a couple of mild oaths, about a half-dozen crude terms, occasional crass language.

The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

 

"IF" (Paramount)

Sweet but flawed fantasy about a young girl (Cailey Fleming) who, in the midst of the emotional crisis caused by the hospitalization of her widowed father (John Krasinski), discovers that she can see other children's imaginary friends. She then sets out to help an irritable but kindhearted stranger (Ryan Reynolds) who shares her gift in his effort to find new partnerships for those among these varied creatures whose previous companions have outgrown and forgotten them. Krasinski, who also wrote and directed, sets out to celebrate the magic of childhood and does manage to marshal some endearing characters (especially those voiced by Steve Carell and Louis Gossett Jr.). Yet the effort to evoke a heartfelt response from the audience feels forced while an excess of exclamations invoking the deity taint an otherwise family-friendly script. Numerous mild oaths, brief scatological humor.

The OSV News classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

"Irena's Vow" (Quiver)

Fact-based Holocaust drama about a young Catholic Polish woman (Sophie Nélisse) who used her position as housekeeper to a Wehrmacht officer (Dougray Scott) to hide 12 Jews in the cellar of the villa he had requisitioned for his residence. The perils of the precarious situation uphold viewer interest in director Louise Archambault's inspiring adaptation of screenwriter Dan Gordon's play. While the humane basic values of the story could potentially make it appealing for older teens as well as grown-ups, a plot development involving an objectively immoral relationship requires careful assessment. Stylized but sometimes disturbing violence including infanticide, implied nonmarital sexual activity, discussion of an abortion.

The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" (20th Century)

Spectacle outpaces substance in director Wes Ball's sci-fi action adventure, the latest installment in a series that stretches back to a 1968 screen version of French author Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel. Generations after the action of this film's immediate predecessor, 2017's "War for the Planet of the Apes," the legacy of that movie's peaceable hero is under threat from his self-declared heir, a power-hungry bonobo monarch (Kevin Durand). Eventually teaming up to oppose this villain are a formerly sheltered chimpanzee (Owen Teague) whose father was killed and whose clan was enslaved by the ruler's forces, a human lass (Freya Allan) who's out to stop the bad guys from getting hold of some old but powerful technology and a sagacious orangutan (Peter Macon) who abides by the long-ago leader's genuine teachings about unity and tolerance. Though the values promoted in Josh Friedman's script are on target and it's easy to root for the youthful protagonist and his allies, the pace is slow and there's a lumbering feel to the proceedings. Probably acceptable for older adolescents. Much stylized combat violence, fleeting crude language.

The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

 

"The Fall Guy" (Universal)

After a near-fatal accident, a Hollywood stuntman (Ryan Gosling) leaves the film business and cuts off contact with the aspiring director (Emily Blunt) he'd been dating. Yet he continues to carry a torch for her. So when her feature debut is subsequently threatened by the disappearance of its lead, the egotistical star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) for whom he used to substitute, and the movie's producer (Hannah Waddingham) begs him to track the missing actor down, he complies. Director David Leitch's loose adaptation of the eponymous 1980s TV series has some appeal as a snappy actioner but even more as a toothsome romantic comedy, though the wit and engaging sentiment in Drew Pearce's script are offset by an excess of off-color dialogue. Considerable stylized violence, including gunplay, a possible offscreen premarital sexual relationship, several instances each of profanity and milder swearing, fleeting rough language, pervasive crude talk, obscene gestures.

The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

"The Strangers: Chapter 1" (Lionsgate)

After their car breaks down, stranding them in a small town in rural Oregon, a shacked-up couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) rent a remote cabin for the night where a trio of home invaders proceeds to terrorize them for no discernible reason, leading to a desperate game of cat and mouse. Director Renny Harlin's relaunch of a franchise that started in 2008 is an utterly pointless exercise in random cruelty, redeemed only by its relatively discreet depictions of mayhem. Grim, briefly brutal violence with some gore, gruesome sights, drug use, cohabitation, scenes of premarital sensuality, about a half-dozen mild oaths, much rough language, occasional crude or crass talk, an obscene gesture.

The OSV News classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

 

"Tarot" (Screen Gems)

Inept horror flick in which a group of college friends (most prominently Harriet Slater and Adain Bradley) gradually discover that their use of a mysterious pack of tarot cards they came across in a rented house, and lightheartedly employed for entertainment, has left them cursed. A succession of hauntings and nasty (though mostly unseen) deaths is the sum and substance of co-writers and directors Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg's screen version of Nicholas Adams' 1992 novel "Horoscope." While the bloodletting is relatively restrained, the characters are cardboard and the mythos explaining their bedevilment lame. Occult themes, several gory images, a fleeting reference to drug use, a couple of profanities, frequent milder oaths, at least one rough term, much crude language.

The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

 

"We Grown Now" (Sony Pictures Classics)

The 1992 murder of a little boy in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green public housing project provides the factual backdrop for this insightful drama, which follows two 10-year-old best friends (Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez) as they pursue the simple pleasures available to them as residents of that facility. Although their families are saddled with low-wage jobs and struggle with a sense of despair, the pals themselves aren't afraid of their environment. As far as they’re concerned, they’re thriving in it. Writer-director Minhal Baig's flair for spotting nuance, capturing emotional reality and depicting family courage, even with two appealingly precocious heroes who sometimes come across as idealized, gives her script a quiet power. Both the film's images and dialogue will linger with viewers, including the older teens for whom it's possibly acceptable. Mature themes, including race relations, fleeting profanity. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults.

The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.