Kimber Myers
Pop culture depictions of in-law relationships usually mine the connections for comedy, whether it’s classics like The In-Laws or just a lazy stand-up routine about some dude’s wife whose mother is terrible in predictable ways. A Little Prayer takes a different approach with the friendship at its tender heart. In this moving drama written and directed by Junebug screenwriter Angus MacLachlan, a father-in-law finds kinship with his son’s wife. While Jane Levy doesn’t quite reach the levels of acclaim Amy Adams did in her breakout role in that 2005 film, she adds so much soul to A Little Prayer as the daughter-in-law, perhaps only bested by David Strathairn’s touching performance as the family’s patriarch.
A Little Prayer is the type of delicate little indie that isn’t going to make a big splash at the box office, though not because it doesn’t deserve to. It wasn’t bought by A24 for eight figures when it premiered at Sundance in 2023; instead, it was initially picked up by Sony Pictures Classics and is now being distributed by Music Box Films after the previous deal fell through in the wake of the strikes. Yet while this is a small movie, it makes such an outsize impact with its story of the friendships we intentionally forge and the families we build beyond genetics. A Little Prayer never comes to a full boil; it gently simmers for most of its runtime, with subtle, layered results in a story driven by its characters and performances.
Other than the presence of a neighbor who walks the streets singing gospel in the early morning, Bill (Strathairn) leads a quiet life in suburban North Carolina. Or at least he tries; his son, David (Will Pullen), adds drama to both his father’s work and home spheres when he learns David is having an affair with a subordinate (Dascha Polanco) at the family business. Then daughter Patti (Anna Camp) tears into town after leaving her husband (again), bringing both her foul mouth and her adorable daughter along for the trip home but no money. Though related by blood, Bill struggles to find a deeper connection to either of his children at this point in their lives. By contrast, the sweet, seemingly shy daughter-in-law Tammy (Levy) — who David is running around on — offers simple companionship. There’s no funny business here; Bill is faithful to his wife, Venida (Celia Weston), and is horrified by his son’s infidelity and what it might say about him as a father. Instead, Bill and Tammy have simply found profound friendship in one another.
Theirs isn’t a relationship often depicted on screen. I struggled to think of another film or show that centers a platonic connection between a father and daughter-in-law—and treats it with such sensitivity. These characters feel like real people that we could actually know, both because of how MacLachlan wrote them and the actors’ performances. Everyone here is solid (with a special mention for Camp as the wayward daughter), but the movie belongs to Strathairn, even though it’s such a humble performance that just feels like the best version of an aging dad. Bill is kind and moral, but A Little Prayer doesn’t let him off the hook either, revealing his failings while also holding that they don’t negate who he is as a man, a father, and a friend.
A Little Prayer is special in its smallness and humanist approach, but it still manages to surprise. It’s relatively low-key for most of its runtime, but its final moments pack such an emotional punch that it elevates everything you’ve seen in the 90 minutes before. Like its spiritual brethren The Station Agent, Short Term 12, and Driveways, MacLachlan’s film treats each of its characters with grace, allowing them to be fully human and flawed, but still worthy of attention and care.
B+
“A Little Prayer” is out Friday in limited release.
