A Little Prayer
Music Box Films | Release Date: August 29, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
86
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Washington PostTy BurrAug 28, 2025
All of “A Little Prayer” is alive in its modest way to the beauty and the disappointment of human existence. MacLachlan has given us Ozu in the heartland, and I can think of no greater praise than that. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzAug 28, 2025
Writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s “A Little Prayer,” about a family in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is like a beautiful hand-wrought sculpture that’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Making it bigger would not have made it better. It’s perfect just as it is. Read full review
91
The Film StageJake Kring-SchreifelsFeb 1, 2023
It’s hard to find sensitive little movies like this. Read full review
91
The PlaylistMarya E. GatesJan 28, 2023
This little miracle of a film features a strong ensemble cast, mordant Southern humor, and sharp insights into the perils and comforts of loving with your whole heart Read full review
90
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerAug 30, 2025
Up until its final scene, I thought A Little Prayer was an entirely decent and poignant piece of work. But its closing scene between Bill and Tammy, those two self-described kindred spirits, moved me more than anything I’ve seen all year. It’s an infinitely touching expression of the love that one human being can have for another. Read full review
90
The New YorkerJustin ChangAug 22, 2025
A Little Prayer is spare yet brisk, and it unfolds with a graceful, almost musical sense of modulation: Camp and Weston, both veterans of MacLachlan’s work, strike bracing high notes of acerbic wit, which Strathairn and Levy answer with an understated bass line of emotion. Read full review
85
Paste MagazineJim VorelAug 28, 2025
Graceful and honest in its assessment of the frayed bonds of marriage and extended family, A Little Prayer thrives on a duo of beautifully rendered performances from David Strathairn and Jane Levy, brought together as two people seemingly meant to be in each other’s proximity–not as romantic partners, but as confidants of a nature that is almost more intimate in its own way. Read full review
85
TheWrapJan 28, 2023
MacLachalan weaves a tale of human frailty and strained connection rare in its avoidance of judgmental histrionics and embrace of what makes all of us unknowable yet worthy of forgiveness. Read full review
80
Film ThreatAlex SavelievDec 2, 2025
Dispenses with all the flourishes and focuses purely on the story and the characters, the gentle humor and the heartrending moments. It all leads up to a wonderful final scene, a knockout punch that cements MacLachlan as one of cinema’s indie greats. Read full review
80
Screen RantGrant HermannsSep 1, 2025
While it may not be the most refined example of its genre, it's really hard not to fall in love with A Little Prayer. Both in the script and performances, the characters feel thoroughly well-realized, the themes at the heart of the story are universal and tackled deftly, and MacLachlan's direction creates a richly tender visual palette. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenJan 28, 2023
The emotional impact of A Little Prayer doesn’t so much detonate as unfold, a series of quiet epiphanies, well-observed and elegant in their awkward yearning. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 28, 2023
MacLachlan’s writing style is at once honest and slightly elevated, the kind we’re used to hearing onstage, where the structure of the entire script matters, and subtext is every bit as important as what’s spoken. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 25, 2025
It’s about parenting, the job that never ends and the parents who never stop second-guessing how they’re managing it. Beautifully cast, summery and bittersweet with moments of dry wit, “Prayer” is a small scale tragedy in light, deft strokes. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNatalia WinkelmanAug 29, 2025
This is a filmmaker able to wrest real feeling from his actors, and from his audience. Read full review
67
ColliderRoss BonaimeFeb 9, 2023
A Little Prayer is often a fairly still story, but it all builds to a beautiful moment between Bill and Tammy, where we get to see the true impact of MacLachlan's tale hit the audience in full force. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineMarshall ShafferAug 24, 2025
The film patiently illustrates how places imprint themselves upon us and guide our actions. Read full review
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