‘A Little Prayer’ Sundance Film Review: David Strathairn and Jane Levy bring gravitas to Southern family melodrama

Angus MacLachlan wrote the great Indie in 2005 june beetle, which put Amy Adams on the big map and earned her an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actress in a heartbreaking performance. It also put MacLachlan on the map with his first screenplay, and it’s off to a promising start. He has since added directing to his credits, including Goodbye for now and Lots of area available but returned to the Sundance Film Festival tonight with his latest, a little prayer Recorded and posted in his hometown of Winston-Salem, NC.

Maybe the kind of little indie that defines the term “Sundance movie.” A little prayer is largely a showcase for an extraordinarily talented cast that makes up the troubled family in this story. It drifts into soapy terrain before it’s over, but is saved by good acting, even if at times it feels more like a television production than a gritty independent film, perhaps because the cinematography looks more or less like video.

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David Strathairn plays Bill, who owns a local tin shop and works with his son David (Will Pullen), a war veteran who has returned to his home where he also lives with the family, including his wife Tammy (Jane Levy). Support comes from Bill’s loving wife Venida (Celia Weston) and a visit from the couple’s granddaughter Hadley (Billie Roy) and their daughter Patti (Anna Camp), who we learn is in an unhealthy relationship with Hadley’s estranged father and have problems with her own. .

Although only 91 minutes long, it takes Bill a while to get to the heart of the drama when Bill sees David flirting with an office colleague, Narcedalia (Dascha Polanco), at the weekly staff ball at VFW, and soon suspects that his son – who also suffers from PTSD, we eventually learn too – is having an affair on the side, although he and Tammy have tried unsuccessfully to have a baby. It becomes more difficult as the secrets pile up and Tammy, unbeknownst to David that she is finally pregnant, heads to an abortion clinic. The melodrama continues as Bill takes matters into his own hands and pursues the truth, even as more revelations await.

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If it all sounds like a year’s worth of soap operas, it’s played in a slow-burning, understated way and grounded by the ever-reliable Strathairn, who delivers his usual authenticity, as does the great Weston, a veteran. from so many such films. fee (Zoey’s extraordinary playlist) is also very good as the woman who seems to take David for granted but bonds with Bill, especially in a heartfelt scene where she reveals a lot about herself. Pullen does what he can with David, alternating between a dutiful son and husband and a vet with PTSD to influence his actions. Polanco comes off well and makes the most of her scenes.

It’s all a genuine effort on MacLachlan’s part, but in a difficult environment where microscopic India emerges like this, it can be a difficult sell and it may take a little “little prayer” to find the right distributor. The cast can help. Producers are MacLachlan, Lauren Vilchik and Max A. Butler. Ramin Bahrani serves as executive producer.

WME is handling the sale.