David Strathairn is excellent when he deals with family drama.

I apologize if I’m late with my review of “A Little Prayer.” I couldn’t find a place for it in my theatrical schedule, even in the independent circuit. But given its digital release, I was given another chance to see it, and I’m glad I did because it’s a small, but very affective film about an old man dealing with the pathos in his family.

Written and directed by Angus McLachlan (who also wrote “Junebug”), the movie starts off with the ambiance and look of the area with the trees and streets, and then it goes deeper into the main protagonist’s life, which might be a little complicated than one would expect. In summation, it’s green on the outside, but it’s dark on the inside.

Set in North Carolina, David Strathairn plays Bill, an aging businessman and Vietnam War vet, who lives with his wife Venida (Celia Weston), their son and his business partner David (Will Pullen), and his wife Tammy (Jane Levy) in the same house. He does visit his vet buddies and other friendly folks in his spare time, and so, it could be a peaceful and friendly Southern home, if there weren’t any problems going on.

The old man has a lot on his plate. His metal detecting holding and jerky daughter Patti (Anna Camp) takes her mute, misbehaving little girl Hadley (Billie Roy) to their house unexpectedly, kudos to her awful husband. These two girls are the least interesting aspects of “A Little Prayer,” in my opinion (especially when Bria Vinaite and Brooklynn Prince used the formula nosier but wiser in “The Florida Project”, but the rest of the characters are valuable of your time, based on their good and bad choices. I’m talking about Bill and Tammy being good at this point in my review.

Bill tries to tell his son: “you have to straighten up and fly right,” while Tammy tries to debunk the rumor that she’s “meek and mild like a mouse.” These are human beings with real emotions and real turmoil that they must learn to overcome. And there’s even a scene when David contemplates helping Patti out, but will she gain anything from it or destroy her chance?

And if Patti’s behavior and problems aren’t enough, Bill suspects that David might be seeing another woman (Dascha Polanco) in the same workplace, and he might have just made another horrible decision. And the old timer loves Tammy enough to try to keep her from getting hurt.

“A Little Prayer” deserves another look if you missed it in theaters, because of the great and human performances from Strathairn and Levy, the direction by McLaughlin, and the whole tone and ambiance of the film. It’s about broken people who need to be redeemed, and not everyone can fix themselves. There are still problems going on, indicating that this is a somber film, and therefore, it’s a reflection on life.

There are monologues that bring out the best and worst of the characters, with sharp and honest dialogue, and a large amount of patience to help represent them. There are good and bad choices, and unless you’ve been in their shoes before, it’s difficult to acknowledge them, but you can sympathize with them.

I was curious about how “A Little Prayer” would play out, and I apologize again if I’m late with this review. But there’s still time to examine these characters and to try to find intimacy within. Will we find it? I can’t say for sure. It’s really up to the movie, and you can see it through the old man’s perspectives based on Strathairn’s eyes and words.

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