‘A Little Prayer’ Sundance Film Review: David Strathairn & Jane Levy Lend Gravitas To Southern Family Melodrama
deadline.comAngus MacLachlan wrote 2005’s terrific indie Junebug, which put Amy Adams on the big-time map and earned her a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination in a heartbreaking performance.
It also put MacLachlan on the map with his first screenplay, and it was an auspicious start. Since then he has added directing to his credits including Goodbye to All and Abundant Acreage Available but tonight returned to the Sundance Film Festival with his latest, A Little Prayer, shot and set in his hometown of Winston-Salem, NC.
Perhaps the kind of small indie that defines the term “Sundance mov,ie” A Little Prayer is largely a showcase for an exceptionally talented cast who make up the troubled family in this tale that drifts into some soapy territory before it is over but is rescued by some fine acting, even if at times it feels more like a TV production than a gritty independent film, perhaps because the cinematography looks like video more often than not.
David Strathairn plays Bill who owns a local sheet metal business and works with his son David (Will Pullen), a war vet who returned to his home where he also lives with the family including his wife Tammy (Jane Levy).
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