The Little Things

So this is what that Bush song was referring to about the little things that kill.

Cast of Characters:
Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon – Denzel Washington
Det. Jim Baxter – Rami Malek
Albert Sparma – Jared Leto
Det. Sal Rizoli – Chris Bauer
Flo Dunigan – Michael Hyatt
Capt. Carl Farris – Terry Kinney
Det. Jamie Estrada – Natalie Morales

Director – John Lee Hancock
Screenplay – John Lee Hancock
Producer – Mark Johnson & John Lee Hancock
Rated R for violent/disturbing images, language and full nudity.

The Rundown: Joe “Deke” Deacon (Denzel Washington) is a man of the law who went from cleaning up the streets of L.A. to working as deputy sheriff for the town of Bakersfield. His marriage went down the hole, his former colleagues want nothing to do with him, and worst of all, he’s continually haunted by the victims of past cases he’s worked.

As they once said in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, “Always look on the bright side of life.”

But just when he thought he was out, like Michael Corleone, he’s pulled back in by Det. Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), Deke’s replacement who needs his help tracking down a serial killer who’s terrorizing the city. Their investigation soon leads them to L.A.’s creepiest loner, Albert Sparma (Jared Leto), who quickly becomes their likely suspect. From there, a game of cat and mouse develops between the three with Sparma getting much enjoyment from the games he plays with the cops, but as things develops further, it could actually be Deke’s own haunted past that threatens the case.

Pre-Release Buzz: If you’re wondering, whether from the trailers, synopses or other reviews, why The Little Things has such a ’90s serial killer potboiler feel to it, that’s because the film’s inception began all the way back in the early ’90s. First written by director John Lee Hancock in 1993 (wedged right in between The Silence of the Lambs and Seven when the serial killer genre was booming), the film was initially set for Steven Spielberg to direct, but he ultimately passed due to the dark nature of the story, and would go on to direct much lighter, more pleasant fare like Schindler’s List. From there, everyone from Clint Eastwood and Warren Beatty to even Danny DeVito were all separately attached to direct at one point during the film’s long gestating pre-production period before Hancock decided to take on the directing reigns himself.

So now, after all these years, decades even, The Little Things has finally made it to the screen, headlined by three Oscar-winning actors in Denzel Washington (who is no stranger to the ’90s serial killer genre with Fallen and The Bone Collector on his resume), Rami Malek and Jared Leto. Is it worth the wait?

The Good: If you’ve seen many of John Lee Hancock’s past films, his style can be best described as workmanlike. They’re mainly performance showcases for his stars, whether it’s Dennis Quaid in The Rookie, Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side (of which she won her Best Actress Oscar), Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks or Michael Keaton in The Founder. And, once again, for better or worse, that is the case here. Those expecting a heavily researched procedural like David Fincher’s Zodiac or the grimy atmosphere of Fincher’s Seven or an iconic serial killer like Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs will be sorely disappointed. There’s no doubt in my mind that this film would’ve wound up being just another forgettable, throwaway straight-to-video potboiler if it featured lesser onscreen talent; however, it’s able to elevate itself just enough above mediocrity thanks to its three main leads all showing us why they’re so highly regarded at what they do.

By far the film’s greatest strength, Washington commands every second of screen time that he has with his trademark magnetic charisma and quiet intensity. Though the script doesn’t provide him much to work with, essentially requiring him to do the heavy lifting solely with his performance, Washington succeeds in conveying the weight of guilt and loss that’s burdened his character for so long. Even when nothing’s said, this man has an effortless way of flashing a smile, steely stare or a defeated, worn down look that resonates far more than what words could do.

Equally strong are fellow Oscar winners Rami Malek and Jared Leto, each delivering performances on wildly opposite ends of the spectrum. As the stiff and rigid hotshot detective, Malek’s interesting choice of Malkovichian delivery may turn heads and take some getting used to at first, but his back-and-forths with Denzel are nonetheless engaging. Coming out of left field and tearing the scenery up as viciously as the serial killer his character is accused of being, Jared Leto does what Jared Leto does best by dialing the creepiness up to eleven, portraying a potential suspect who not only doesn’t shy away from the police, he seems to get off at their pursuit of him.

Hancock should get some credit, though, at least for roughly the first half of the movie, for the way he doesn’t hold our hands and spoon-feed us certain details about the characters. This treatment is most effective during Deke’s return to see his former colleagues where you get just enough of a sense that something doesn’t sit right between them. It’s that still, quiet tension brought by Hancock and his performers in those moments that generates enough intrigue in us to wonder what may have happened in Deke’s past without them having to spell everything out for us.

The Bad: Ultimately, though, this a film that, as previously alluded to, is just a feature-length version of a watered-down, forgettable episode of CSI, one that plods along at a sluggish rate that would make even the slowest of slow burners feel like explosive, frenetic Tony Scott mayhem. Yes, the star power is there, and they all deliver, but there’s only so much they can do, and it’s really kind of a cop out to think that since you have award-level talent at your disposal you can just sit back and let them carry all the heavy lifting. Zodiac had star power, but Fincher still provided an incredibly immersive experience that dove deep into that real-life investigation. Even Seven and The Silence of the Lambs, while not as heavily researched as Zodiac (in fairness, those two aren’t based on actual events like Zodiac is), are still great, engaging thrillers.

The main problem, and the film’s most frustrating, is that Hancock teases us with a much better film that never comes to fruition. Little moments, or should I say “little things” (wah-waaaah), are introduced that have the potential to develop into something profound or meaningful, but then lead to nowhere. For example, there’s a recurring reference to Deke’s faith, or lack thereof, plus at least two scenes of Deke staring up at the Hollywood Cross as he drives by it on the freeway. You’re led to believe that those scenes are going to either provide further insight into Deke’s character or culminate in a compelling conclusion for him, but Hancock does nothing with that subplot. Nor does he do much with Deke’s haunted past, which in this case, finds Deke quite literally haunted by the victims of past cases he’s worked. Washington does his part, of course, ’cause he’s an amazing actor that can do this type of tortured role in his sleep, but while he’s able to let those scenes resonate on a surface level, the fact that we learn little to nothing of the victims prevents the film from packing more of an emotional punch.

As mentioned, the slight ambiguity of Deke’s past is handled quite effectively at first, but for Hancock to not bring about any sort of payoff to the number of story strands he leaves untied is somewhat maddening. And the twists that are unveiled in the third-act feel unearned mainly ’cause both the procedural elements and the characters’ psychology are treated more like afterthoughts. So, essentially, this is a film that somehow manages to be too long and yet too short at the same time.

The Ugly: The next victim a potential suspect like Sparma should strangle to death is a bar of soap.

Consensus: The Little Things will understandably frustrate those looking for either a moody, atmospheric thriller or a thought-provoking procedural, but thanks to three first-rate performances from Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto, all is not entirely lost here.

Silver Screen Fanatic’s Verdict: I give The Little Things a B- (★★½).

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