The American old west, with its vast landscapes and isolated communities, has long been a fertile ground for cinematic exploration. In A Prayer for the Dying, first-time director Dara Van Dusen attempts to craft a sombre tale of an unfolding epidemic in 1870s Wisconsin, adapted from the novel by Stewart O’Nan. According to a review in The Guardian, the film boasts technically accomplished yet unsatisfying drama, with a narrative that feels like a short film stretched too long.
The setting is a frontier town in Wisconsin, where Jacob, played by Johnny Flynn, serves as both sheriff and pastor. Haunted by his traumatic experiences in the civil war, Jacob is a complex character, and his Norwegian background has sparked suspicion among some townsfolk. He is married to Marta, played by Kristine Kujath Thorp, and they have a young child together. As reported by The Guardian, the film's visual gestures and set pieces are striking and often shocking, but they feel disconnected from any emotional truth.
The discovery of a dead body on the town's outskirts, still in uniform from the war, sets off a chain of events that threatens to upend the community. The town's doctor, played by John C Reilly, is horrified to realize that the man died of diphtheria, and a woman from a neighboring religious community shows similar symptoms. A catastrophic epidemic is imminent, and the men are divided on how to respond. As noted by the film's screening at the Berlin film festival Berlin film festival, the film's themes of trauma and epidemic are timely and thought-provoking.
The disease renders the dilemma irrelevant, as Jacob struggles to enforce his strictures and keep the illness under control. Scenes of horror are made worse by the news of a spreading wildfire, creating an eerie red glow in the atmosphere. This glow could be a PTSD projection, a dramatization of Jacob's already deeply unhappy mind. He seems immune to the disease, but is he a carrier? A Typhoid Mary?
John C Reilly delivers his role with sympathy and weight, while Johnny Flynn, though always a watchable screen performer, was perhaps not directed as closely as he might have been to create the necessary wrenching anguish. The film is a highly controlled artefact, but it delivers less than it promises. Despite its technically sound and moody atmosphere, A Prayer for the Dying lacks emotional substance and sustained storytelling.
