Wildflower: A 'True Story' Movie That Stems From Its Director's Real Life Roots
"Wildflower" has all the makings of a well-received indie feature. The film follows Bea (Kiernan Shipka), a high school senior, who serves as unofficial caretaker for her neurodivergent parents — a formula that has drawn comparisons to the Oscar-winning "CODA." It also boasts an impressive cast as Bea's neurotic but well-meaning family: Jean Smart, Jacki Weaver, Brad Garrett, Alexandra Daddario, and Reid Scott, with Dash Mihok and Samantha Hyde as her parents.
But "Wildflower" didn't begin as a feature. For director Matt Smukler, the project began as a short video essay inspired by his niece, Christina Stahl, upon whom the film is based. "I went out to Las Vegas to shoot a little, tiny, short companion piece for her to get into college," Smukler told TheWrap. "She had no idea how exceptional she was. She actually thought she was very ordinary and didn't know what to write on a college essay."
Smukler quickly realized that the story was remarkable enough to warrant its own full-length documentary, which was released in 2020. From there, the idea blossomed into a narrative feature, inspired by Christina as well as "how incredible the whole family is," Smukler continued.
Smukler wanted to capture the joy of his family
While Bea's experience is the focal point of "Wildflower," it was Christina's real-life grandmothers who inspired the narrative adaptation. "I believe I'd showed [screenwriter Jana Savage] some footage of the grandmothers," Matt Smukler told Screen Rant, "and she was like, 'This would really make a great feature.'" Indeed, the grandmothers –- played by Jean Smart and Jacki Weaver -– add a dose of humor as feuding matriarchs and help to flesh out the film's comedic perspective.
"There is so much joy in their lives, and the family loves to laugh," Smukler continued. He hoped that a narrative feature could help showcase that energy that is sometimes lost in documentaries due to the subjects' self-consciousness. "Once [the cameras] are off, obviously the real family can be themselves in some ways. I feel like that was something I wanted to capture."
Beyond being a portrait of a specific family, "Wildflower" is far-reaching in its on-screen depiction of disability. This was especially true for Samantha Hyde, an autistic actress and activist who plays Bea's mother. "I think it's really important to tell disabled stories on screen because disability isn't a dirty word. It's ordinary," Hyde said in the same story for TheWrap. "And this story really celebrates the ordinary moments and the extraordinary moments and shows that disabled people can live full, independent lives. And I was really happy to be part of that."