Warner Bros. recently released their latest major title, The Little Things both at theatres and their streaming platform, HBO Max. For a crime-drama starring three Oscar-winning performers, the movie did have high expectations. Not to mention the excitement of seeing Denzel Washington in a crime drama again. The guy is so perfect for these roles.
Directed by John Lee Hancock, the movie has a strong, all-star cast including Oscar-winners Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto. Unfortunately, that was not enough to overcome the issues. The Little Things seems to fill with a whole lot of big problems and they are so evident that it makes the movie and its plot so unimpressive and frustrating.
Set in the 90s, the movie is about Joe Deacon (Washington), a haunted, weary sheriff’s deputy who has to unofficially join the investigation of some serial killings. The murders resembled the ones that occurred when he was a homicide detective in L.A. Malek plays the young homicide detective Jim Baxter who is intrigued by the work of Deacon and wants him to join him in his investigation.
After watching the movie, if you felt that the plot of the movie is a lot old-fashioned, then you are not mistaken. The story for this movie was first written in 1993 and over the year, many notable names, including Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood were involved in the attempts to make the movie happen. This explains why the movie is so generic.
The tormented protagonist who wants to be left out of the game, a young hotshot looking to bring the protagonist back, gruesome killings, and the neo-noir tone meant great business three decades ago. However, for today’s movie audiences, these are all cliches.
The character may sound great on paper, but onscreen they appeared poorly written and close to being fact. Despite the writer trying hard to bring depth and complexity to the characters, they appear nearly flat and generic. Their character journey and development are pointless and exists merely for the plot advancement.
Jared Leto’s performance is the only considerable interesting element of the movie. Surprisingly, the actor was capable of driving the story back in some exciting directions and did outperform Washington and Malek in so many ways.
If you are a fan of the good old serial killer thrillers, then give this movie a try. The movie is now available on HBO Max and in selected theatres. Here is the trailer for the movie:
