The screenwriter of Junebug directs this understated Southern family drama led by David Strathairn
Angus Maclachlan’s drama A Little Prayer, set in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, stars David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck, Sneakers) as Bill, the patriarch of a small family. Son David (Will Pullen, Dickinson, Lilly) and his wife Tammy (Jane Levy, TV’s Suburgatory, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) live in the guesthouse behind the home Bill shares with his wife Venida (Celia Weston, Junebug, Knight and Day). The men, both veterans, run a small sheet metal business together, and Bill worries that his son is sleeping with coworker Narcedalia (Dascha Polanco, Orange Is the New Black).
There’s a clear intimacy to Maclachlan’s filmmaking in A Little Prayer, from the long takes and limited angles used in the cinematography to the mostly domestic setting (many scenes shot in the kitchen). While dealing with tough themes such as PTSD, life after military service, reproductive choice and infidelity, there are light moments in the work thanks to Weston’s impeccable delivery and Anna Camp’s (The Good Wife, Pitch Perfect) flighty and frantic take on daughter Patti. Levy’s Tammy and Strathairn’s Bill are the soul at the center of the film, lending a contemplative quality to A Little Prayer. Neither character is talkative, so they both wear their emotions on their face. It’s easy to see the affinity they share for each other as father and daughter-in-law (in the director’s commentary on the recently released Blu-ray, Maclachlan shares that Levy called Strathairn the kindest actor she’s worked with).
The quality of the film is such that the only downside is the terrible wig poor Narcedalia wears; so bad that the director joked they spent most of their visual effects budget trying to clean up the front of her wig in certain scenes. The unfortunate wig distracts the viewer, even in pivotal moments. There is such attention to detail in A Little Prayer otherwise, in the production design which creates a real sense of place and makes the house seem lived in, as well as the performances from the full cast (even the side characters!)
Strathairn is one of the greats and A Little Prayer is an excellent sampling of his talent. In a compelling scene near the end, Bill comments to Narcedalia about children that “They don’t belong to you. And they will break your heart.” And the actor’s earnest delivery moves me each time I see it.
A Little Prayer is out on Blu-ray from Music Box Films. Special features on the disc include:
- Audio commentary from director Angus Maclachlan, where he shares details about the mystery singer we hear through the film and other comments on the production
- Post-film panel discussion with Maclachlan from Ebertfest ’25. The filmmaker says the work of nine years was shot in 19 days (in 2022). He notes that the powerful abortion clinic scene was filmed the day the Dobbs decision was announced. The mystery singer is “like grace; you can’t see it.”
- Inside the Arthouse episode with Maclachlan and actress Jane Levy
- Theatrical trailer
