by Conan Simmons – July 2, 2021 – 10:01 pm
Denzel Washington stars as a police officer in Kern County, California who is sent on a quick evidence gathering mission into the heart of Los Angeles. Hesitant to accept the assignment we soon find out that he is a former officer of the LAPD who transferred out under mysterious circumstances.
In Los Angeles, he kills time by accompanying a detective, played by Rami Malek, investigating what appears to be a string of murders committed by a serial killer. The clues at the crime scene they visit triggers memories of a case that may hold the cause of why Washington’s character left the LAPD.
Becoming obsessed with solving the crime the investigation leads them to an oddball creep with a penchant for true crime, played by Jared Leto.
Directed by John Lee Hancock from a screenplay by Hancock and Mark Johnson, ‘The Little Things’ constantly flirts with wanting to be something more than a standard cop drama. The cat-and-mouse game of wits Leto plays with Washington and Malek never really pays off though it does come close a couple of times. The mystery overall ultimately takes a back seat (almost literally) to the character study, mishandled as it is, that overpowers the narrative.
The cinematography is good keeping the tone of the film in line with the borderline sleazy, crime-ridden atmosphere the characters inhabit. The script does have the characters make dumb decisions now and again that undermines the concept of these detectives being top at their job. The directing is standard with some questionable editing choices which may be more the fault of the screenplay. Multiple moments almost jump off into psychedelia as Denzel Washington’s character is haunted by victims of crime scenes past, dead people appear to him in his hotel room and a recently deceased body starts talking to him in the morgue.
The film does take the chance of being ambiguous on the mystery at large, unfortunately it works to the detriment of the movie. Even the end of the movie feels somewhat anti-climactic. It is a change of pace from all the spoon-fed narratives that dominate the screen in recent years, it’s just too bad it doesn’t work out better.
The main reason to see ‘The Little Things’ is for the three stars. Denzel Washington shows how aptly he commands the screen even with awkward scenes like the previously mentioned morgue. Rami Malek is well cast as the hard-nosed cop who doesn’t like outside interference on his case but puts justice above his personal opinions. Jared Leto, in a Golden Globe nominated performance, has the persona of the oddball creep down almost a little too perfect though it does make the scenes with his costars more dynamic as the characters clash.
Overall, ‘The Little Things’ is a movie for star watchers of the three leads and character actress Natalie Morales, who plays a detective assisting Malek’s character with the case. Fans of the mystery genre will most likely enjoy the picture even if the film itself doesn’t really stand out. I guess that’s why it’s called ‘The Little Things’.