The Little Things is a new Denzel Washington crime thriller. In it Washington plays Joe Deacon, a former L.A. Homicide Detective who’s now just a deputy out in the boonies. An assignment brings him back to Los Angeles and he gets dragged into a serial killer murder investigation. The investigation is being lead by Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), who is younger cop with more modern methods. He also has taken Joe’s place in the department. But Baxter ends up asking “Deke” for help more and more. Deacon is tormented by the new case because his failure to solve a similar case in the past destroyed his career and his life. Baxter begins to rely on Deke more and more because he feels like he can’t get things done through the proper police channels and Deke is willing to do the dirty work for him. An odd loner, Albert Sparma (Jared Leto) emerges as the main suspect in the case. But it’s unclear if he’s actually involved or he’s just obsessed with murder cases.
I won’t say anymore because that would spoil the story, but there is one big twist that reframes all the characters. Or depending how you look at it, potentially two.
Unfortunately the Little Things just doesn’t add up. The twist does shed light on some of the mysteries that aren’t addressed earlier in the story. But the resolution of the story isn’t satisfying.
This isn’t anyone’s best performance. Denzel is doing a potentially interesting wrinkle on his typical righteous suffering man persona, but the movie doesn’t really explore this or the consequences of his guilt fully. Leto’s Sparma is weird, but ultimately not weird enough to be interesting. And Malek as the up-and-coming cop trying to balance life and work doesn’t mesh. He seems to vacillate from playing it straight ahead and playing Baxter as an oddball.
But it’s not just that the performances and the twist that disappoint. The overall writing does as well. Some things are setup and never paid off. The movie is set in the early 1990s seemingly just so the filmmakers didn’t have to worry about cellphones. While the movie is directed well, you come away from it completely unsatisfied.
I’m rating this movie an HBO Go. As in go watch nearly any other Denzel Washington movie and you’ll be more entertained.