'The Little Things' Review: Genre Clichés Get in the Way, but Denzel Washington Saves the Day
THE CRIME DRAMA, SET IN EARLY-90s CALIFORNIA, CAN BE A LITTLE PREDICTABLE AND EVEN DULL IN SOME MOMENTS, BUT SERVES AS ENJOYABLE ENOUGH ENTERTAINMENT THANKS TO ITS PERFORMANCES, PARTICULARLY THAT OF DENZEL WASHINGTON.
“The Little Things” hits HBO Max today, marking the first film in Warner Bros.’ 2021 film slate to be released on the streaming service the same day that it is released in theaters. The release follows Warner Bros.’ controversial announcement in December 2020 stating that all of their 2021 films would follow the same dual-release schedule, causing a lot of uproar among filmmakers and audiences alike.
“The Little Things” is written and directed by John Lee Hancock (“Saving Mr. Banks”, “The Founder”). This is arguably a new cinematic avenue for the prolific director: a gritty crime drama set in 1992, depicting a rookie and a veteran detective working together to solve a string of vicious murders in the Los Angeles area, desperate to catch the serial killer who has evaded capture. The frequent use of pay phones and the consistent appearance of 1990s hip-hop in the film’s soundtrack are the biggest indicators of the film’s time period, which is otherwise handled in a way that at least tries to evoke a certain timelessness similar to what David Fincher achieved - and, let’s just get it out of the way, did far better - with “Se7en” in 1995.
The movie follows the somewhat stereotypical tropes of a crime thriller: retired veteran detective (Denzel Washington) comes back to the big city to help solve an unsolvable case alongside an over-confident rookie (Rami Malek). It’s a tale as old as time in this genre, yet “The Little Things” doesn’t seem overworked or lazy. The twisted reveal at the end of the film fits the psychological thriller narrative and is enough to keep you invested the entire length. Washington’s rogue and layered performance is just another reason to tune in. It’s been a while since Washington had graced our screens, the last being in 2018 with “The Equalizer 2”, so it is a breath of fresh air to have his face once again grace our screens.
Washington’s retired gumshoe is Joe 'Deke' Deacon, who was forced away from the bustling city where he was the lead detective responsible for solving murder investigations. Since his departure, Deacon has isolated himself out in the desert of Kern County, acting as a county sheriff where the worst crime investigation is missing signs at the local steakhouse. When Deacon is brought back to Los Angeles to retrieve evidence from a crime, he is thrust back into the high-stakes bustle of his old department. After hearing of Deacon’s prior reputation, Jim “Jimmy” Baxter (Malek), the rising detective at Deacon’s old branch, invites him out to a crime scene for guidance on the latest unsolved murder.
Baxter and the Homicide division have been circling around leads for the latest murder investigation plaguing the city. Five women have been stabbed to death with no probable leads. After jumping in to help investigate a crime scene under Baxter, Deacon realizes that the latest victim suffers from the same sort of bite marks identified on a similar case in his old county. The ominous backstory of the reason why Deacon left Los Angeles in the first place is a source of intrigue in the early part of the story.
As Deacon sticks around to investigate a little longer than warranted, we begin to understand that it was his questionable interrogation and investigation practice, coupled with a tragic mistake that ruined his career and life, that forced him to leave. Questionable investigation practices include speaking to the corpses, and the manifestations of the women they were in life, as he struggles to put the pieces together and determine why they were killed, which leads to the covered-up tragedy that made him flee the city.
Over-extending his reach and overstepping his bounds, Deacon becomes too ingrained in the case, desperate to solve it even at the expense of everything else. Led by intuition and guided by gut instinct, Deacon and Baxter team up find the serial killer, desperate to put him behind bars. Their investigation leads them to an appliance salesman, Albert Sparma (Jared Leto) who had been stalking the second crime scene off the side of Highway 1. Leto’s performance, as has been typical for him in recent years, seems exhaustingly exaggerated. He plays the part of the kooky serial killer suspect who enjoys playing with the detectives during their investigation, but does so in such a predictably over-the-top way that it just comes off as a caricature.
The first part of the film is detailed and layered, but the second half feels like an unending stakeout that features Deacon and Baxter waiting for suspect, Sparma, to slip up, hoping to catch him in the act. Baxter becomes obsessed with avenging the deaths of the victims that he makes a mistake, putting his own life at risk.
The film is ambitious - most stories like this are now forced to be part of a series, joining or contending with streaming services, and based on the subject matter alone, one could see this as a glorified episode of “Criminal Minds” or “CSI”. However, the stacked cast, coupled with the strong direction and backstory, makes you forget about the film falling victim to some of the tropes associated with the genre. The vague ending and limited killer reveal will have audiences scratching their heads to uncover the real truth. It’s not going to walk away with any Oscars, but in a month where most films are typically dumped as garbage by studios, “The Little Things” makes for an enjoyable and interesting enough watch.