‘A Prayer for the Dying’ Review: Johnny Flynn and John C. Reilly Face a Test of Moral Fiber in a Dazzling Debut

Set in 1870 Wisconsin, Dara Van Dusen's Berlin-bowing first feature is a revisionist Western based on Stewart O'Nan's novella. John C. Reilly (left) and Johnny Flynn in 'A Prayer for the Dying.' Lukasz Bak Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment You wait eons for a great tragic film set on the American frontier in the 19th century from a little-known director that features an outstanding male lead performance, a scene-stealing turn from a veteran character actor, and a forest fire — and wouldn’t you know it, two come along at once. Well, not quite at once, but just a little over a year apart. Close enough to make you wonder if there’s something in the air, a conspiracy afoot, or just great minds thinking alike and taking inspiration from fine literary works. Director Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, adapted from Denis Johnson’s novel of the same name, premiered at Sundance in 2025, but didn’t really build up a critical wind behind it until last fall, as awards season heated up, which is why it feels so recent. This year, A Prayer for the Dying, similar to Train Dreams in all the ways listed above and just as good a film, debuts at Berlin in the newish Perspectives showcase, where it’s created a substantial buzz. Related Stories Movies 'Rose' Review: Sandra Hüller Brings Blazing Vitality to a 17th-Century Woman in Trousers in Transfixing Gender Performance Tale Movies Berlin Hidden Gem: Indonesian Auteur Edwin Takes a Cue from Jordan Peele for Anti-Capitalist Horror-Comedy 'Sleep No More' A Prayer for the Dying The Bottom Line A blessing in so many ways. Venue: Berlin Film Festival (Perspectives)Cast: Johnny Flynn, John C. Reilly, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Andrew Whipp, Hilton Pelser, Christopher John-Slater, Daniel Weyman, David Ganly, Tadhg Murphy, Christopher RyghDirector/screenwriter: Dara Van Dusen, based on the novel by Stewart O'Nan 1 hour 35 minutes Prayer will definitely make a name for, or at least cement the reputations of, many of the talents attached to it. That goes especially for writer-director Dara Van Dusen, a New Yorker who trained at the Polish National Film School in Lodz and now lives in Norway. Following some well-received shorts, she makes her fearsomely confident debut with this mostly faithful adaptation of Stewart O’Nan’s elegant novella. A more known quantity on the other hand, Johnny Flynn (Emma, Operation Mincemeat) knocks it out of the park playing Norwegian immigrant and Civil War veteran Jacob Hansen, who also serves as the Wisconsin town of Friendship’s local constable, undertaker and preacher. Present in nearly every frame, Flynn’s Jacob is a Victorian Job on a bicycle, constantly in motion as he tries to deal with not just an outbreak of diphtheria that threatens the lives of his loved ones, neighbors and everyone in town, but also wildfire getting nearer to Friendship by the minute. But kudos are due also to John C. Reilly, serious as a grave after a long run of comic turns (you could say he fills a slot similar to that occupied by William H. Macy in Train Dreams, although Reilly’s role is more substantial); up-and-coming Norwegian actor Kristine Kujath Thorp, who plays Jacob’s fragile wife Marta; and an international cast of supporting players, who bring surprising, layered depths to the smallest roles. And we haven’t even gotten started on the craft contributions, all top-notch, but with special praise due to DP Kate McCullough’s stylized, sun-bleached and blood-colored lensing that darts, dashes and dares to zoom; the dead-on period sets by Hubert Pouille; and the patchworked, lovingly dirtied and thoroughly distressed costumes by Ján Kocman. The international cohort shot the film on location in Slovakia, passing plausibly for 1870 Wisconsin. Where Train Dreams was, for some, a little too under the ponderous spell of Terrence Malick, with all those wind-ruffled landscapes and figures backlit by magic-hour sunsets, A Prayer for the Dying appears to draw inspiration from grubbier, more gothic visions of the American West. Although set during a summertime drought, the scuffed and slovenly sets and clothing recall Robert Altman’s iconic, mud-soaked revisionist western McCabe and Mrs. Miller or, if you prefer something more recent, Deadwood. Meanwhile, Van Dusen is upfront about how the sui generis compendium of photograph and news stories Wisconsin Death Trip, compiled by Michael Lesy and later made into a film by James Marsh, is also a touchstone here, with its portrait of Midwestern despair and madness in the wake of economic hardship and high mortality rates from diphtheria and other maladies of the time. There are echoes of Death Trip’s monochrome 1880s photographs of dead children, miserable hausfraus and other unsmiling locals in the frontal way Van Dusen and McCullough