Lifetime's PRAYERS FOR BOBBY Early Review

Ryan Kelley, Sigourney Weaver - Prayers for Bobby

Tonight Lifetime will premiere an incredibly inspiring original movie, PRAYERS FOR BOBBY, at 9pm.

Based on a true story and Leroy Aarons’ book of the same name, Prayers for Bobby tells the story of Mary Griffith (Sigourney Weaver), a profoundly religious wife and mother who begins to question her faith after the suicide of her gay son.

When I sat down to watch the movie, I didn’t know anything about it. I had decided that I wanted to experience the movie without any expectations.

Having seen it, I cannot express how beautiful and inspiring Prayers for Bobby is. I watched it a few days ago and can’t get it out of my mind.

Ryan Kelley, Henry Czerny, Sigourney Weaver - Prayers for Bobby

Sigourney Weaver is fantastic. She is able to capture the journey of this mother, Mary Griffith, so truthfully, it’s hard not to be touched. As an actor she finds a way to portray the denial of a mother, who doesn’t want to believe her adoring son could be the one thing she was raised to believe was a sin, so real that you can feel the pain her son experienced. But more so, the transformation and breakdown she experiences when the loss of Bobby forces her to look at the truth. That scene will break your heart.

There is also something to be said about Ryan Kelley’s performance as Bobby. He gives the character this perfect innocence and kindness that highlights the tragedy of this story. The audience’s love for Bobby is what makes the movie great.

If there are a few Lifetime movies worth seeing, this is definitely one of them.