Movie Review: The Little Things

Both Denzel Washington and Rami Malek have won Oscars for their acting ability, and in John Lee Hancock’s new crime thriller, The Little Things, the actors are given an expansive canvas with which to work. Unfortunately, there is little else to The Little Things than the presence of these two talented actors. The film is an overlong and, in the end, uninteresting detective story that is an abject lesson in what could have been.

The film starts off as most stories of this ilk do. Seemingly tired and worn out Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon (Washington) drives into town and, despite a somewhat checkered past, becomes an unlikely partner to Sgt. Jim Baxter (Malek) as they search for a serial killer who has been terrorizing Los Angeles. As the investigation progresses, Baxter is unaware that it may be bringing to surface disturbing secrets from Deke’s past that could possibly threaten more than just the outcome of this particular case.

Both Washington and Malek hold their own throughout the proceeding and manage to do the best work possible given the meandering nature of the film as a whole. Without their presence, the whole enterprise would have been an utter debacle. But, with them, especially Washington’s portrayal of the haunted Deacon, the film proves passable, though it remains intolerably long. Apparent antagonist Albert Sparma (an underused Jared Leto) barely dents the first half of the film and then, only becomes a convenient tool used to wrap things up.

Denzel Washington and Rami Malek in “The Little Things.”

Writer/director John Lee Hancock, who has delivered far better product like The Rookie (2002) and The Blind Side (2009), seems as stymied as his characters as to how to move the film along in a more economical and less plodding manner. It begins to feel as though everyone is so enamored by the work being done that no one wanted to see it end, therefore ignoring the creation of any sort of a plan to do so.

In the end, The Little Things is a film that serves as an example of extremely talented actors shoehorned into a mediocre and plodding piece that appears to be constructed with such hubris that it manages to lose all of its power and credibility as it lumbers into and through its second hour, before ultimately dissolving into a none-too-interesting procedural thriller. Everyone involved deserved much better and have delivered such in the past.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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