Fall Fest 2025 - “A Little Prayer”
- Matt Palmer
- Sep 27, 2025
- 2 min read
The Fall Film Festival at the Dietrich Theater is now in full swing and I have selected a few festival selections that I will be checking out for the Examiner! For this edition, I checked out the opening night film “A Little Prayer” and the unconventional indie romantic comedy “Oh, Hi!.” And, for next week’s edition, I plan on checking out the A24 indie film “Sorry, Baby.”
In “A Little Prayer,” a loving father grapples with how to protect his daughter-in-law when he discovers that his son is having an affair. A heart-tugging drama about finding kindred spirits in unexpected places.
“A Little Prayer” is a deeply moving and realistic portrayal of family dynamics and delivers strong performances from the entire cast, especially from David Strathairn and Jane Levy. The film also does an amazing job capturing big emotional moments through a raw, honest approach, which can evoke a personal experience for the audience.
The performances from David Strathairn and Jane Levy really helps build the emotion that this film can deliver. In fact, their nuanced performances and believable chemistry are easily the highlights of the film. Levy does an incredible job conveying deep emotion, while Strathairn gives a quietly powerful performance.
The development of the caring, platonic connection between father-in-law Bill and daughter-in-law Tammy is also at the heart of this film’s gentle narrative. All of their moments together, built on genuine love and understanding, are easily some of the film’s most tender moments - especially during a conversation they have where we see Tammy emotionally state why it’s hard to eventually leave her cheating husband.
Throughout the film, we also connect with the character’s caution, confusion, and open-heartedness as they navigate through complex family ordeals, prompting reflection on emotional responses. There’s a fairly compassionate moment where Bill has a conversation with his son’s lover and, in this case, the other woman is given a chance to offer her perspective. And, in this scene, we see how Bill shows his deep confusion and desire for understanding the whole situation.
Despite it being a little on the slow-moving side, “A Little Prayer” is a film that has quite a bit of emotional depth, great performances and a poignant depiction of a family testing its bonds.
Cast: Jane Levy (Tammy); David Strathairn (Bill); Will Pullen (David); Celia Watson (Venida); Dasche Polanco (Narcedalia); Anna Camp (Patti); Billie Roy (Hadley); Ashley Shelton (Bethany); Steve Coulter (Sarge).
Writer/director: Angus MacLachlan (Stone; Junebug)
Trivia: MacLachlon revealed to the magazine “Vulture” that the development of the film had started six years prior. Principal photography took place in June 2022 in MacLachlan’s hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2023. Shortly after, Sony Pictures Classics acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film. However, it became apparent during the 2023 WGA strike that the deal with Sony failed to materialize and the rights were picked up by Music Box Films in May 2025.
MPA: Rated R for language (runtime 91 minutes)
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