Three academy award winning actors in a prestige crime drama directed by the man behind The Blind Side and Saving Mr Banks should be one of the best films of the year. Especially when one of those actors is the great Denzel Washington, one of the finest working in Hollywood today. Yet John Lee Hancock’s meandering serial killer investigation The Little Things never hits the potential afforded to it by its cast (Rami Malek and Jared Leto round out the key trio), stumbling through the glacially-paced case without any sense of urgency; its intriguing central mystery constantly overshadowed by the uninteresting, boring inter-personal problems of the police uncovering it. The calibre of talent keep you on-board even throughout the most sleep-inducing stretches, but not even Washington can redeem the unfulfilling ending, which relies on shock value to mask unfinished story threads.
The film immediately evokes comparisons to David Fincher’s Se7en – perhaps the greatest serial killer film of all time – through its central relationship between grizzled veteran cop Joe Deacon (Washington) and rising star detective Jim Baxter (Malek), who has taken over Joe’s position in his old LA precinct. Assigned by his commanding officer to retrieve key evidence from his old digs, Deacon is swept up in Baxter’s investigation into a recent string of murders of young women, all of whom have had been mutilated in ways similar to a case from Deacon’s past, the result of which remains a mystery. Unlike Se7en however – where the relationship was built on an uneasy alliance of respect, self-preservation and a morbid obsession with the case – Deacon and Baxter’s relationship is much less fleshed out, based on pure happenstance and luck. The initial hostility between the pair paints an interesting picture of a tenuous partnership; an alliance borne out of necessity, before quickly dissolving into a friendship that stems from nothing other than a vague, unearned sense of respect for the man Baxter replaced, enforced by the older cops around the station. The pair never really bond in a meaningful way other than brief conversations about the case and snide, macho jabs at one another, and when later events threaten to shake that bond, you are forced to question just how strong it can be when the pair have only been working together for a single day.
That leads to The Little Things’ biggest problem: the characterisation of its leads in a film that truly believes its characters are more interesting than the plot. Denzel does what he can, with a lot of long stares and pained looks giving you insight into the demons that haunt him; the lingering psychological effects of the case that seemingly cost him his former life. It seems at times that he is on autopilot, rolling out the same old mannerisms and line deliveries that made him a star. Obviously that is still amazing when you’re a man of Washington’s talent but it would have been nice to see him bring more vulnerability and genuine fear to the role, rather than a clichéd world-weariness and somewhat dubious lust for revenge that doesn’t gel with his otherwise laidback demeanour. Rami Malek’s performance, on the other hand, is excruciatingly stiff and unemotional, to the point where you are unsure whether it is a red herring to insinuate that he could in fact be the killer or if his acting is just bad (Spoiler Alert: it’s the latter). When the script calls for big flashy emotional moments from him they don’t land at all, feeling hollow and contrived rather than from a genuine understanding of the role. That poor performance is compounded when the weight of the film’s emotional impact shifts onto Baxter, highlighting an already boring performance as a glaring problem that robs the film of much of its impact.
Thankfully Jared Leto’s brilliantly creepy Albert Sparma provides some intrigue. Leto is phenomenal as the wannabe crime buff who seems by all accounts to be the prime suspect if for nothing else than his bizarre willingness to be held responsible for the crimes, with nothing firmly tying him to any of the murders. Channelling that manic energy from Suicide Squad – more weird on-set shenanigans than his turn as the Joker – Sparma is a cold and unwelcoming presence, acutely aware that he is being pursued by Deacon and Baxter and relishing every second of it, playing mind-games on the two detectives and frustrating the living hell out of them. The interactions between Sparma, Deacon and Baxter are the most compelling moments of the film, finally supplying some progress to the case that never feels like it is ever going anywhere with rising tensions and emotions threatening to bubble over as the long nights begin to take their toll on the detectives. However for a film with such an interesting killer at its centre, The Little Things never truly seems concerned with exploring the crime itself. Sure Deacon and Baxter are investigating it and Sparma inserts himself in the process but there is always a sense that Baxter is more concerned with his career and that Joe is only concerned with revenge. These two thinly drawn individuals just aren’t compelling enough together to justify the inconclusiveness the finale leaves you with. The audience simply doesn’t care enough about them for Hancock to forego a conclusion to the case in favour of making a moral stand. For majority of the film, Baxter and Deacon’s dialogue consists of clichéd drivel – back and forth about who owes who breakfast – instead of meaningful development that makes them feel like anything other than cookie cutter cop stereotypes.
Unlike its name, The Little Things is a big disappointment, with a talented director and his team of terrific actors unable to make the most of a concept that could have been a riveting companion piece to Se7en. Instead what we’re given is a stale, tiresome investigation into a genuinely compelling case that places next to no focus on the actual murders, choosing to waste its time on conventional characters who just aren’t interesting. For his part, Leto adds a genuinely creepy presence that lifts you out of the doldrums but it is too little too late to save Washington and Malek’s stereotypical detectives from their bland fate. A lazy Sunday afternoon watch perhaps or just a skip altogether – you won’t miss much if you don’t sweat the little things.
The Little Things stars Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Chris Bauer, Natalie Morales & Jared Leto – In Australian cinemas February 18th and in US cinemas and streaming for a limited time on HBO Max now.