A Little Prayer (2025) – Review

Quick Thoughts:

• Excellent Film
• Director and writer Angus MacLachlan has crafted an intimate and intelligent film loaded with beautiful moments.
• Jane Levy and David Strathairn have perfect chemistry. It’s almost like they’re kindred spirits.
• The metal detector stuff is pure treasure.
• Steve Coulter!
• Celia Weston can drop a one-liner.
• Jane Levy delivers my favorite performance of 2025. Maclachlan said she has a “strong inner life,” and I agree.
• Between Eephus,  A Little Prayer, and Familiar Touch, Music Box Films had an excellent 2025.
• Between Jeff Nichols and Angus MacLachlan, I like that there are directors out there who respect rural areas.

A Little Prayer centers around a man named Bill (David Strathairn) trying to protect his daughter-in-law Tammy (Jane Levy) when he learns that his son David (Will Pullen) is having an affair with a co-worker (Dascha Polanco). Bill is a Vietnam War veteran who owns a sheet metal company in North Carolina and lives a comfortable life with his wife Venida (Celia Weston – thankfully not in Junebug mode). They also have a daughter named Patti (Anna Camp), who, after the 7,000 fight with her drug-addled husband, shows up at their house with her five-year-old daughter in a minivan filled with all of her stuff (including a metal detector). Thus, his quiet life is upended as he’s forced to reconcile with past choices and mistakes. 

Bill is trying to “protect” Tammy because he absolutely adores her, and her presence is always welcome in his home. She fills coffee mugs, packs bagged lunches, helps Venida make chicken salad, and works at a nearby Target superstore. She and David live in the guest house behind Bill’s home, and both of them seem to be stuck in a limbo stemming from rough childhoods, PTSD (David served in Iraq), and lack of funds. In the Blu-ray commentary, Maclachlan heaps a lot of deserved praise on Levy because she does a lot of heavy lifting with minimal dialogue. It really is a marvel of a performance, and it was cool when she got nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award (MacLachlan’s script was nominated too). 

The rest of the film focuses on Bill learning more about his family while discovering that his worries stem from guilt over his failures as a father and husband (he’s not the most attentive or sharing). Since it’s a film written by MacLachlan, don’t expect a lot of drama or theatrics; look for smart observations, well-delivered lines, and tiny moments that make the film feel perfect. MacLaughlan started writing the movie in 2016 when his daughter turned 15, and it got him thinking about her departure for college. These feelings manifested the relationship between kindred spirits Billy and Tammy, who enjoy casually strolling through the Winson, Salem streets as they seek out an unseen singer who occasionally serenades the neighborhood with gospel songs. I’d bet money on the fact that the two hit it off immediately, and they have a lived-in chemistry that builds to a heartbreaking moment that takes place on a park bench. 

Sony Picture Classics picked up the film after its debut at the 2023 Sundance festival and planned to distribute it worldwide. However, the 2023 writers’ strike and distribution issues prevented its release. After two years, the rights went back to the producers, and they sold it to Music Box Films, who gave it a limited theatrical run and a streaming release. During all the release turmoil, MacLachlan was worried about Levy, because he wanted worldwide audiences to get eyes on her performance, and it’s a really good thing that Music Box Films stepped up to distribute the film. 

The cinematography by Scott Miller is fantastic. During pre-production, Maclachlan mentioned that he wanted the camera to be a witness and not an observer, and it was a good note because the camera never feels obtrusive or voyeuristic; instead, it impartially observes the action. In a neat little touch that might go unnoticed, MacLachlan had cinematographer Scott Miller shake the camera when Patti enters Bill’s house because her character is like an earthquake in the quiet home. The production design and art direction from Diana Rice and Adriaan Harsta feel lived in and real, and it’s fun knowing that they were able to film in the main house because the family who lived there took a three-week vacation to Florida. Knowing that the film was shot in 19 days, during COVID (and MacLachlan was dealing with stage 4 kidney cancer) makes me respect it more because it’s such a good film. 

Final thoughts – Buy the Blu-ray. Watch the movie. Let me know what you think.