The immediate comparison to A Little Prayer will be Junebug, the 2005 independent film directed by Phil Morrison, which helped make Amy Adams a star and earned her her first Academy Award nomination. That film revitalized a tired genre with an unassuming sense of humor and a depth that gradually unfolds.
That connection is no surprise, since Angus MacLachlan, the writer-director of A Little Prayer, wrote Junebug. While lacking the earlier film’s signature humor, the experience is an absorbing picture that gradually peels back subtle layers of revelation until its final scene—each one more powerful than the last.
A Little Prayer Plot
Jane Levy and Will Pullen in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
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Anna Camp in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
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David Strathairn in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
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Anna Camp, David Strathairn, Celia Weston, and Jane Levy in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
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David Strathairn and Jane Levy in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
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David Strathairn and Jane Levy in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
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Jane Levy and Will Pullen in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
Anna Camp in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
David Strathairn in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
Anna Camp, David Strathairn, Celia Weston, and Jane Levy in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
David Strathairn and Jane Levy in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
David Strathairn and Jane Levy in A Little Prayer (2023) | Image via Music Box Films
By the time you get to A Little Prayer’s moving third act, the final scene feels unassuming, but in fact, the profound nature of the subject matter sneaks up on you. The movie has no trouble layering quiet revelations and heartfelt drama into a moving story where subtle truths hit hardest in the final act.
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The movie opens in a small Southern community, where business owner Bill (David Strathairn) lives with his eccentric wife, Tammy (an excellent Celia Weston). Also living with them are their son, David (Dope Thief’s Will Pullen), and his wife, Tammy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’s Jane Levy). David is a veteran, and during his deployment, Tammy’s in-laws had her stay with the family.
The screenplay introduces a handful of eccentric characters, though you rarely get to know them as three-dimensional people. For instance, Anna Camp (You) appears as Pattie, Bill, and Celia’s erratic and self-destructive daughter. She has an adolescent child, Hadley (Billie Roy), who is acting out—mainly because of Pattie’s cruelty and the volatile nature of her marriage.
A Little Prayer Review
As a man entering his golden years, Bill should be on cloud nine. He owns a successful family business and often takes his employees to the VFW for drinks after work. He has a grandchild and a close family nearby. Yet as the film progresses, this quiet slice of the American dream proves to be mere window dressing, forcing him to question where he went wrong.
A Little Prayer may suffer from uneven character development among its main cast, but when you step back, it’s clear that Angus MacLachlan’s film is about a late-life reckoning. As a man enters the later stages of life, all he has is the family he raised to measure his legacy. In the film, Strathairn’s Bill begins to protect Levy’s Tammy from family situations he can no longer control.
All he wants is for his family to be happy, while Celia has resigned herself to the belief that they did their best. Strathairn conveys a poignant sense of a father’s lament over Pattie’s marriage, even offering to pay for a divorce lawyer. What unfolds is a quiet regret, as he begins to question whether, had he been around more, his children might have been happier or, at the very least, more stable.
Is A Little Prayer worth watching?
The performances are strong across the board, although the writing is uneven. Camp handles the comic relief well, even if her role is somewhat one-note. Weston brings subtle depth that steadies the ensemble, adding texture where it’s most needed. The weakest link is Pullen’s character: despite his pivotal role, the script leaves him underdeveloped, which ultimately lessens the story’s impact.
However, A Little Prayer is worth watching due to the scenes featuring Strathairn and Levy. Strathairn’s stoic resonance is felt throughout, but it’s Levy who repeatedly sets the audience up only to knock them down—managing to be both devastating and exalting at the same time. MacLachlan’s film is about rebirth and letting go.
You can watch A Little Prayer only in theaters starting August 29th!
A Little Prayer Review — Quietly Poignant, Deeply Moving
Exultant, Angus MacLachlan’s A Little Prayer recalls his Junebug roots, trading humor for quiet revelations. The film peels back layers with patience and care. By its moving final act, what seems unassuming becomes profound, sneaking up on the audience with unexpected emotional weight.
