An essay by Angus MacLachlan on making 'A Little Prayer' and figuring out the 'Why?'

AT A RECENT Q&A FOR THE FILM THAT I wrote and directed, “A Little Prayer,” someone asked me, “Why did you want to tell this story?” I bumbled and came out with something along the lines of “Who knows?": The process is mysterious, the journey senseless, to the rational mind. A story comes from so many places — what you've lived, what you've seen, what you've read and, for me, from a deep, unconscious place.

- 

I started “A Little Prayer” nine years ago when my daughter was 15. She’s now 24. The story concerns a man, played by David Strathairn, who tries to protect his daughter-in-law, played by Jane Levy, when he finds out that his son (Will Pullen) is having an affair.

You find out as a parent, or with any real love, that when you love someone you want to be with them. But when you understand that it is no longer for their best and highest good, you have to transcend your own personal desires and let them go. I only realize in retrospect that I was writing unconsciously about my daughter growing up, going away and becoming an adult.