In the exquisitely-acted family drama A Little Prayer, Bill (David Straithern) seems to be an unlikely candidate for a life crisis. He owns a successful Winston-Salem, North Carolina business, which he runs with his son David (Will Pullan). Bill is popular in the community, and his employees appreciate his fairness and generosity. He shares a spacious home and a longtime. comfortable marriage with his wife Venida (Celia Weston). David and his incredibly sweet wife Tammy (Jane Levy) live in a smaller house on their property, and both Bill and Venida adore Tammy.
But Bill is upset when he suspects that David may be having affair with one of their employees. Protective of Tammy, Bill dithers about what to do. As he tries to intervene, he finds that David’s extramarital fling might be the only tip of the iceberg.
Bill and Venida know what it’s like to disappointed by an adult child. Their daughter Patti (Anna Camp) is the hottest of hot messes, a nightmare of selfishness, entitlement, irresponsibility and self-created drama. In every respect, she is the worst possible role model for her daughter Hadley (Billie Roy), and Bill and Venida are sickened when they see Hadley acting out. I am not a violent person, but I wanted to reach through the screen to slap Patti.
It’s one thing to be disappointed by your child’s lack of achievement or romantic choice or even to suffer embarrassment from their legal trouble. But it’s entirely another level of horror to recognize profound character failings in your child. Could I have raised a sociopath, a victimizer? Why can’t I fix him?-
BIll has always known that Patti is a mess (and he has enabled her behavior). But, the deeper he probes into David’s life, the more shattered he becomes.
Bill is a Vietnam vet and enjoys the camaraderie of other old vets at the VFW hall. David is a veteran of the conflicts in the Middle East, and, although he is affable and fun-loving and seemingly functional, he may have unresolved issues from his service. Venida intuits that something is wrong in David and Tammy’s marriage, but Bill is gobsmacked to learn what it is.
David Straithern’s performance as Bill is one of his best. Bill is a decent, well-intentioned guy who is in control of his life, until he becomes absolutely bewildered by what is wrong and his own inability to fix it. I’ve loved Straithern’s work since his early John Sayles films, and he is now recognized as one of America’s most reliable screen actors.
Bill is the protagonist, but the story is centered on Tammy’s arc. Jane Levy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) is exceptional as Tammy, a seemingly perfect woman who masks her vulnerabilities. Levy has two scenes – one at a clinic and one after a museum visit with Bill, that are among the most emotionally powerful of the year.
The character played by Dascha Polanco (Daya in Orange Is the New Black) also has two extraordinary scenes with Bill, one where he is in control and one where he is powerless I always enjoy Celia West in a movie, and she’s also very good as Venida. This cast is one of the strongest ensembles in recent movies.
This is only the fourth feature film that writer-director Angus MacLachlan has directed since 2005, but one of them was the wonderful family dramedy Junebug. Junebug became an indie hit, and Amy Adams’ Oscar nominated performance launched her career.. A Little Prayer deserved to be a hit, too, but its release seemed to be delayed and it somehow got overlooked.
Junebug was also set in North Carolina. A Little Prayer was produced by a stalwart of North Carolina indie cinema, Ramin Bahrani, director of Goodbye Solo, At Any Price, 99 Homes, Fahrenheit 451.
A Little Prayer is one of the Best Movies of 2025 and can be streamed from Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.