Ethan, Maya Hawke pool family talent to make 'Wildcat' transcend biopic conventions

As I watched director Ethan Hawke’s excellent Flannery O’Connor biopic “Wildcat,” my mind couldn’t help but wander to online arguments around the concept of the “nepo baby.”

For the unfamiliar, the phrase is short for “nepotism baby,” and is cultural shorthand for the debate on whether performers (or artists or entrepreneurs or whomever) with famous parents in the same field should be castigated or artificially limited for having an unfair advantage in their career.

Well, actually, I don't know what the solution is for people who bring the idea of “nepo babies” forward as a problem. Are they suggesting the offspring simply find another career? Or should the children of famous people hide away in their mansions and be ashamed of their good genetic fortune?

Like many things online, it’s just another concept that gives people a reason to complain and blame others for the lack of success in their own life. Social media is best used by those who want to abuse others with their insecurities.

Maybe there’s no solution to this problem because it is, in fact, not a problem. People often enter the same profession as their parents. It’s what they were raised around and it’s what they know. A family member might help their kid get an interview or an audition, but if said kid doesn’t have the goods, they won’t have much of a career after that first foot in the door.

I am burying the lede here. “Wildcat” stars Maya Hawke as author O’Connor. She is the daughter of the filmmaker — who also happens to be a movie star — and Uma Thurman. Now, think about this for a second. Wouldn’t it make sense that the child of two Oscar-nominated actors might be good at acting? Or that the offspring of movie stars might also have movie-star good looks? It could very well be in her nature.

More: Ethan Hawke's biopic of Flannery O'Connor is coming to Ragtag. Here's how to see 'Wildcat'

Should we be deprived of Maya Hawke’s performance because her father is the director? Maybe there would be someone better for this role, but what we have in this film is an exceptional performance.

Hawke plays O’Connor as someone who looks meek but has a sharp and wicked mind as she battles a crippling disease. By its own composition, the character of O’Connor provides a challenge for any actor. Which Hawke navigates without showing much effort. It’s a great performance for a young actor who has mostly done smaller roles in movies like “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” or voice work in the recent hit “Inside Out 2.”

I also think Ethan Hawke should be given some deference here in casting because the rest of the film is so exceptionally done. I often bemoan the lousy, lazy state of biopics that simply assume the genius of artists and do nothing to help audiences visualize how they create their art or why their work should matter.

Here, director Hawke weaves together O’Connor’s life with segments from her short stories to show how her family, her experiences and her illness reflected in what she was writing. What becomes clear from the film’s structure is not only a greater understanding of O’Connor as a person but also of how she crafted her work.

You see how the relationships she has with her mother (Laura Linney, who is excellent as always) or the men in her life (including Steve Zahn, and it’s always great to see him show up) manifest themselves into fiction. It is often so seamless that, if there's any complaint with “Wildcat,” it's that it is sometimes hard to distinguish between the story of O’Connor and her stories. Some technical flourishes could have helped keep this straight.

Such a quibble is small. It should be pointed out that Maya Hawke also appears in the dramatizations of O’Connor’s short stories — as do the other actors from the biopic portion of the film — and this too shows off her ability to play different characters. I cannot emphasize enough what a great performance she gives.

I would also note it's a film that doesn’t shy away from discussing faith, which few films venture to do. O’Connor’s relationship with God and church is complicated — her writing makes that abundantly obvious — and “Wildcat” refuses to shy away from her struggles. There’s a masterful moment where she is visited by a priest (from an actor in a cameo I don’t dare spoil) that is lovely in its discussion of the pain that comes from grace.

The Hawkes have come together to make not only a lovely film about a challenging character, but one that honors her work and art. Thank goodness we have talented people like Ethan Hawke having talented kids like Maya Hawke. To her credit, Ms. Hawke addressed the issue of nepo babies in a Variety interview and gave perhaps the best answer I’ve heard anyone offer as to whether she deserves a career in film because of her folks.

“‘Deserves’ is a complicated word … there are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway.”

Well put. “Wildcat” opens its run at Ragtag Cinema this weekend.

James Owen is the Tribune’s film columnist. In real life, he is a lawyer and executive director of energy policy group Renew Missouri. A graduate of Drury University and the University of Kansas, he created Filmsnobs.com, where he co-hosts a podcast. He enjoyed an extended stint as an on-air film critic for KY3, the NBC affiliate in Springfield, and now regularly guests on Columbia radio station KFRU.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Ethan and Maya Hawke pool family talent to make 'Wildcat' shine