Wildcat does justice to Flannery O’Connor’s faith (w/ Joshua Hren)

By Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast ( bio - articles - email ) | May 24, 2024 | In Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast

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Joshua Hren, editor-in-chief of Wiseblood Books, joins the podcast to review Wildcat, the new Flannery O’Connor biopic directed by Ethan Hawke and starring Maya Hawke and Laura Linney.

The film is a respectful and nuanced portrayal of O’Connor, her faith, and her art, accomplished by extensive quotation from her prayer journal and letters, as well as several interludes depicting her short stories (which keeps the film from feeling like a formulaic biopic).

Wildcat‘s portrayal of the relationship between artistic ambition and faith is deeply relevant to Catholic artists. It should inspire them to find creative ways of dealing with the pressures that would subvert their God-given gifts, whether those pressures come from other Catholics, family, or the art world.

Links

List of places where you can see Wildcat (scroll down) https://wildcat.oscilloscope.net/

Wiseblood Books https://www.wisebloodbooks.com/

Catholic MFA program at the University of St. Thomas https://www.stthom.edu/Academics/School-of-Arts-and-Sciences/Division-of-Liberal-Studies/Graduate/Master-of-Fine-Arts-in-Creative-Writing

Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com