"Wildcat": Flannery O’Connor in Theaters
“All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful” (Flannery O’Connor).
The eerily saturated ambiance and darkly underexposed sky before the coming of a storm evokes a strong fear of the unknown in so many, and it sticks with me from childhood.
I can remember growing up in the south and hearing the sirens blaring that a twister was close by but not within sight. Those were the days of weather radios, of the static as knobs quickly adjusted to find a signal so our family could hear what was coming in our home, which sat on top of a hill surrounded by tall pines and southern oaks.
Walking outside before a strong storm always brought a thrilling premonition of what was to come and what was unseen, a feeling that was strangely comforting. Seeing that nature gave us warning signs of the potential impending terror would calm my heart. I can recall the strange silence when the bluebirds, chickadees, brown thrashers, squirrels and noisy cicadas knew it was time to find shelter. Pill bugs, roly polys, and caterpillars, which my sister and I had collected the weekend before on hands and clay-stained knees on an adventure in the sweltering southern sun, escaped their leafy fortresses to venture out through the humid and stock-still wind to take shelter.
As my parents called me inside, I can vividly remember thinking, “I am safe.” I can remember following their instructions to sit curled up in a ball in a central spot within our sweet Georgia home. Our pets and family surrounded us as I clutched a favorite small statue of our Blessed Mother or a prayer card of a favorite saint as the winds started to blow and clouds rolled in. What could have resulted in panic always resulted, instead, in peace and comfort.
The Lord always finds us through the darkness. As in my own memories, this truth is depicted in the new film Wildcat.
The Genius of Flannery O’Connor
The author Flannery O’Connor was frequently criticized during her lifetime for her dark perception of reality in her work, where she depicted both human depravity and her Catholic faith. Her essays, short stories, and novels were brutally honest and vividly set in places throughout the south, transporting readers to uncomfortable times and places. O’Connor didn’t appeal to readers seeking an emotionally uplifting read. Her storylines did not fall in line with others written during her career, which followed the years after the Southern Renaissance of the 1920s.
And yet, O’Connor is one of the strongest apologists for Roman Catholicism in the 20th century, due to her steadfast faith and ability to challenge all of her readers to offer our earthly sufferings to God, walking alongside Christ and helping to carry His cross. O’Connor’s writings are not for the faint of heart but for the strong of faith. By reading between the lines, we can see the light and beauty in every story, understanding that grace comes in the most unexpected ways, often during our most difficult moments.
An Authentic View of Grace
Wildcat is an artistic biopic that brings Flannery O’Connor’s strong Catholic values, inner creative thoughts, and southern inspiration to the screen. The film is named Wildcat after one of her short stories, and I believe it summarizes O’Connor’s personality and wit. It’s set during the time when she wrote her first novel, Wise Blood. Viewers can see her creative perception of life's challenges and her will to persevere through imaginative, undersaturated lighting depicting life’s suffering in her short stories. The film takes us through a series of events occurring in the year 1950, as O’Connor battles with insecurity, a segregated society saturated with racism, and her diagnosis of lupus.
The film opens with a black-and-white trailer for an adaptation of her first novel, Wise Blood. This preview sets the stage for Wildcat, helping viewers prepare to be transported in and out of O’Connor’s brilliant mind—authentically, without censorship. This opening also introduces the audience to the idea that she relates her writing to her own life, as we see her (played by Maya Hawke) portrayed as her own characters through her short story visions on screen. The film intertwines the development of her short stories with her own life events, from the presentation of her essay “Parker’s Back” to short stories such as “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” “Revelation,” “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” and “Good Country People.” Through each of these stories, we catch a glimpse into family life, darkened in abstract ways that cause us to question yet ultimately help us to strengthen our faith through grace.
A Catholic Lens
Unlike what we see typically in films, Wildcat shows O’Connor praying directly in front of the camera throughout the film as well as through voiceover as she asks for God’s guidance and help. The opening scenes show her collecting her rosary underneath a statue of the Blessed Mother and walking to Mass. Viewers later see a close-up of her reverently making the Sign of the Cross. The filmmakers could easily have left these elements out, but including them early helped them establish who O’Connor was as a person and a writer.
St. Augustine said, “We mustn’t fall into the kind of trap where we love words more than we love the realities they represent.” Flannery O’Connor’s life emulated this quote, as her writing portrayed the realities of life and how we can witness God in our surroundings. She experienced suffering through a debilitating disease and, throughout her life, wrote in a way that caused controversy. The writing that stirred up that controversy brought to light the reality that while we are not perfect, we have the ability to do so much goodness.
A life fully devoted to living out our Catholic faith is not meant to be silver-lined or shallowly beautiful. Charitable acts of love are selflessly performed in the darkest of places. We are called to be stewards of faith through our unique vocations, just as O’Connor was throughout her beautiful life. Through prayer, steadfast perseverance, and selfless acts of creative and charitable love, we can help accomplish the Lord’s greatness.
I recommend Wildcat to anyone wanting to watch a film that will open their eyes to a different form of evangelization and creative expression of faith. While watching it, the phrase “the calm surrounding a storm” may come to mind. The undersaturated images and dark colors generate a feeling of anxiety or even horror—a purposeful use of visuals that can help the audience dive deeper into what it means to be a Catholic. Our emotions change over the course of the film, just as our feelings change with a passing storm. In time, viewers feel a sense of calm, knowing that through our sufferings and challenges, God’s grace prevails.
Christina Sabo is the director of marketing and communications for Catholic independent school Mount de Sales Academy. She is also the social media manager for Catholic Women in Business and owns her own creative agency, Paloma & Fig, supporting Catholic businesses in public relations and graphic design. Christina resides in Macon, Georgia, and strives to take in every moment of the day with a joyful heart. Her favorite pastimes are spending time in the great outdoors with her family, writing, learning about the lives of the saints, and sipping a strong cup of coffee.