‘The Little Things’ Review: Comes Up Short Despite Denzel Washington’s Performance

Denzel Washington does his best to elevate an otherwise forgettable crime thriller in The Little Things.

Rami Malek and Jared Leto are fantastic actors, but writer and director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) has crafted a story that gives neither Oscar winner much to work with. Hancock has wanted to tell this story for nearly 30 years now and The Little Things feels like a relic.

Malek is the hotshot, young detective (Think Brad Pitt with less charisma in Seven). Leto is the creepy, prime suspect. Washington plays an aged lawman and former detective that has plenty of demons but is drawn back into the case. Hancock even tries to craft his “What’s in the Box” moment but falls flat.

To his credit, Washington packed on some pounds and really sells the weariness of a police officer who has been through the ringer. Similar to his roles in Equalizer or Man on Fire than Training Day or Fences, this a more restrained, quiet peformance from Washington.

Thomas Newman’s (1917) score complements the story well, but this film just feels so inert.

With the preliminary investigation complete, let’s dive deeper into The Little Things, which is currently streaming on HBO Max.

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Three Oscar Winners Can’t Save The Little Things

Deacon is a man of few words and few actors accomplish more with a look than Washington. He portrays the weariness of a cop that knows better than to get involved in this case but can’t get past his demons. If only The Little Things made the case actually interesting enough to warrant his attention. More on this in a minute.

Malek struggles the most as Jim Baxter. He’s not bad in this role, but Baxter is a character we’ve seen on screen before and written better. Baxter is the lead detective for this serial killer case and he’s in over his head, which results in him seeking out Deacon in solving the case. Malek sells his torment late in the movie quite well, but the supposed twist in the case is so lacking in logic and reason that it renders everything after ineffective.

Leto playing a creepy, lonely guy that likes to play games with cops as Albert Sparma is hardly a stretch. The scenes featuring Washington and Leto are quite tense, but The Little Things needed more of those types of scenes to make the 2-hour investment worthwhile.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s little chemistry between Leto and Malek. The decision to change Albert Sparma’s target from Deacon to Baxter brings the 3rd act to a halt. There’s an entire car scene where Baxter doesn’t say a word while Sparma keeps chatting. The idea is obviously to create tension. Unfortunately, the result is awkwardness and boredom. You will probably want to exit the car, not out of horror or creepiness, but in a desire to stay engaged in the story.

The Little Things Fails the Victims

Hancock fails to make the female victims little more than cannon fodder, which is a shame.

Deacon’s process is more focused on the victims than the psyche of the killer. With this type of protagonist, you’d think getting to know the victims or their loved ones would be important, but that’s just not the case.

I’m not going to spoil the major moments of the film, but I need to describe this opening scene. A young woman is driving late at night on an empty California highway. Suddenly, a car catches up to her. She freaks out, heads to a gas station and gets out of her car. Why does she stop driving and head to the gas station? No idea as Hancock doesn’t show us the fuel gauge in the car, so I have no idea why she decided to stop driving.

There’s another female victim jogging with a male friend a night. He offers to walk her home, she declines saying it’s a few blocks away. The murder isn’t shown just her body.

The women in the film deserved better.

Why is Deacon Working this Case?

Deacon has no business working this case. Yes, he’s a former LAPD homicide detective, but he’s now as mall town deputy in Northern California and has been for at least a few years.

Furthermore, Baxter is told repeatedly by his CO not to get dragged down by Deacon. The CO never directly confronts Deacon, even after Deacon puts his hands on Sparma in the interrogation room. Yes, there’s the rather vague threat of the FBI taking over the case, but there needed to be more conflict over Deacon getting involved with the case.

The scenes where Deacon is gathering evidence, talking to the medical examiner and interacting with Sparma without the LAPD involvement are the strongest scenes in the film. The best approach for The LIttle Things might of been having Deacon outside the law and Baxter within the law, conducting their investigation independently, then bringing the two together in the final act.

Final Thoughts on The Little Things

The Little Things isn’t a terrible film thanks to Washington’s performance, but it’s a disappointing film. There’s just not much here that’s unique to the crime genre and the twist at the end is an utter failure.