Family is everything, and those of us who are lucky will find that there are some people who may not be related to us by blood or through any direct legal connection, but who enter our lives and become an important part of it. The idea of the “chosen” family has been a source of a lot of discussion over the years, especially as we’ve found ourselves growing increasingly more incredulous of the belief that the nuclear family is the ideal. This is what Angus MacLachlan uses as the foundation for A Little Prayer, a film that examines the idea of looking beyond the traditional roles that we usually associate with family structure, and finding that some of the most meaningful relationships are those which emerge unexpectedly, and which tend to be the most ironclad. The film follows a mild-mannered family living in suburban North Carolina, leading lives that most would consider pleasant. Bill, the patriarch, runs a family business that has kept three generations clothed and fed, while his wife, Venida, spends her time working as a tour guide for the historical district. Their son Dave works with his father, and seems poised to take over eventually, which is particularly exciting as he and his wife Tammy are hoping to start a family eventually. However, beneath this veneer of domestic bliss lie many secrets, which Bill quietly observes from a distance. In the span of a couple of days, the couple’s younger daughter suddenly returns home, having left her husband and returned to her family home, her young daughter in tow. Bill also discovers that Dave is cheating on his wife, a fact that he refuses to deny when confronted by his father. Through all of this, Bill finds himself struggling to stay afloat, and it turns out that his salvation arrives in Tammy, whose happy-go-lucky demeanour and ability to keep the family into which she married together, despite all their personal challenges, makes for a welcome change of pace as he endures the chaos that surrounds him. A quiet, moving drama that contains many bursts of softhearted humour, A Little Prayer is a charming film that never intends to be more than it promises on the surface, while also slightly falling short of brilliance as a result of its simplicity, and its sometimes meandering tone that doesn’t always fit the overall message it is attempting to convey, despite its best efforts.

At a glance, A Little Prayer does seem to be your garden-variety family drama, based on both its themes and how it handles them over the course of its running time. There is nothing particularly revolutionary or unique about this film, which functions as a more subtle, quiet examination of family dynamics, from the perspective of characters who don’t normally register as active participants in some of the more challenging moments faced by certain people. The film is built around a family who are dealing with some obstacles, but from the viewpoint of the patriarch who finds himself trying to hold the family together, and his daughter-in-law, who steps up to be the voice of reason, despite not being related to these people by blood, and whose own marriage seems to be living on borrowed time, since she is not delusional enough to think that her position here is ironclad. It’s an interesting approach, especially since many would gravitate towards wanting to explore the roots of the tension that exists beneath the idyllic surface of the family, since this is logically the more fertile ground to excavate dramatic material. However, it does prove that even looking at these concepts from the perspective of the people who are firmly rooted in the family, yet exist on the periphery in the position of passive observers, can lend itself to some fascinating commentary. Bill and Tammy are compelling characters because of how they choose to limit their involvement, understanding that everyone is on their own journey, and asserting their own beliefs is not necessarily going to change the inevitable. Instead, the focus is on supporting one another – the centrepiece of A Little Prayer is Bill’s knowledge that his son is having an affair, and that Tammy, who may not know directly but certainly suspects something iss amiss, is merely trying to hold herself together, working hard to be a valued member of a family that simply does not appreciate all of her efforts. It’s a poignant approach, and allows us to examine the layers that define this family, presenting the audience with the opportunity to get a glimpse into the daily lives of these people, who represent any ordinary family, proving that even those which appear blissful and peaceful on the surface are sometimes struggling to handle unseen challenges, many of which tend to go unresolved.

The anchor of A Little Prayer is most certainly the cast – there are shortcomings present in this film (which will be discussed momentarily), but absolutely none of them are associated with the performances, all of which are consistent and compelling, and make us wish MacLachlan had paid more attention to the quieter and more subtle cues, rather than going down the eventual narrative path. David Strathairn is a wonderful actor, having a rich and compelling career that consists of a variety of roles that draw from a very natural, subdued style of acting. In the role of the patriarch who is doing what he can to keep his family together, which is built from a combination of his strong Christian values (although we can appreciate how this film is not too preoccupied with using religion as the sole moral anchor for this family) and his belief in a kind of placid masculinity, one that is formed from honouring and respecting one’s family, rather than defined exclusively by outdated principles of gender roles – it may not be intentional, but the film’s commentary on gender are fascinating and deserve further insights – which guides the story and makes this film far more engaging. His wife is played by Celia Weston, a wonderful character actor who has rarely been given the attention she deserves, despite a long career of exceptional work that underlines her extraordinary ability to make even the most mediocre of material seem powerful. She fits perfectly into the part of this ferocious but warm-hearted matriarch, being responsible for many of the film’s funniest and most heartfelt moments. The other major performance is delivered by Jane Levy, who is impressive in her ability to hold her own against two incredible veterans of stage and screen. There are a couple of moments where she actually steals the film away from Strathairn and Weston, who are more than happy to oblige, since they can clearly see the purpose of the story, which is less about exploring Bill’s journey on his own, but rather examining the intergenerational bond between two unexpected companions, the only two people who seem to be capable of stepping outside of their comfort zone and seeing that life cannot be exclusively defined by one’s own desires. Will Pullen and Anna Camp are, unfortunately, a step below the core trio, but even they have some very strong moments – no one in A Little Prayer is particularly weak, since they all have moments of genuine honesty, which elevates an otherwise very pedestrian family-based drama into something much more special.

There were many different directions in which A Little Prayer could have gone in terms of tone and execution. The subject matter could have easily lent itself to overly intense melodrama or flippant dark comedy, and both would have been logical. However, MacLachlan is someone who seems to be striving for authenticity more than anything else, which leads us to see this film as a more subtle, nuanced character-based drama composed of small moments rather than elaborate displays of emotion. Everything is kept quite straightforward, and anyone expecting some explosion of emotion or sudden burst of energy is going to be severely disappointed. Part of this is actually why the film struggles to leave much of an impression, since while we can understand the decision to approach the subject matter more quietly, the fact that it ends on a note that can be interpreted as either hopeful or cynical is not as interesting as it may seem to think. The ambiguity of these characters’ futures that the film ends on (particularly the friendship between Bill and Tammy) could be interpreted as a statement that life goes on, and that some of the biggest changes occur so gradually that we don’t even notice, which is a lovely lesson in itself, but one that doesn’t really register as far as holding much dramatic weight. A Little Prayer is a pleasant film, but not a major one – and throughout the narrative, we see its efforts to develop on these ideas, not realising that it doesn’t quite hold the emotional cache that it seems to think it does, and instead functions as a simpler exploration of a family caught in a challenging moment. For a film about healing and the power of finding inner strength, it can be quite disappointing to see how it frequently refuses to take a stand, which is clearly an intentional choice, but one that does prevent it from actually saying anything particularly meaningful. When the final moments consist of a conversation between the two protagonists as they openly remark that they realise their time together is limited, and that their whole bond, as authentic as it may have been, was defined by the presence of others, and that once Tammy’s marriage eventually disintegrates (which seems inevitable, even if it may not be quite at its breaking point by the end of the film), everything that connected them is likely to disappear. It’s a lovely story, but one that isn’t served particularly well by its lacklustre execution.

A Little Prayer is an example of a work in which the title perfectly reflects everything that we come to realise as true about the film – it’s a quaint, simple little story about faith, family and friendship, told by someone who is by no means a major visionary, but rather a quiet observer of the human condition in all of its peculiarities, even if the more sombre, stoic nature of the film does mean it doesn’t get the opportunity to lean into the potentially more upbeat scenarios. This is not a film that intends to challenge anything or provide us with entirely new perspectives, but its also not one that aims to be too downbeat, choosing instead to find the perfect balance between the two, showing the day-to-day trials and tribulations of this family as they navigate what appears to be a mild obstacle in their lives, but is in reality going to be far more decisive moment in their future, since it will essentially define the dynamic and familial structure. It is relatively simple, and those who feel underwhelmed by what is essentially a by-the-numbers family melodrama are not entirely wrong – but it still has enough candour to be worth our time (especially since it never overstays its welcome, being a perfectly reasonable 89 minutes), and offers us exactly what it promises at the outset, even if it isn’t always particularly exciting. Anchored by some wonderful performances (Strathairn and Levy in particular remind us of their extraordinary skills, and Weston is one again proving herself to be one of our greatest living character actors, her extraordinary command of the craft making her by far the best of this already compelling cast), and well-written enough within its confines, A Little Prayer is charming but conventional, never pushing beyond the boundaries but instead reminding us of the value of something captivating enough to hold our attention, while never going too far in either direction, being relatively simple but effective in doing what it set out to achieve at the outset.