The Little Things

Sometimes a film just feels like it should work out. 

There's some semblance of prestige, an impressive cast, and perhaps an interesting premise to go with it.

The Little Things, now on HBO Max and in [open] theaters, feels like that kind of film. It's a dark, moody, and adult crime drama with a mystery that suggests a large "OMG" payoff along with performances by Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto. 

Unfortunately, "seeming" and "executing" are two very different things. The more and more I slogged through The Little Things, the more and more I wondered just what its purpose was. In ways, it can be entertaining but in many others it can feel like a chore. 

For a film with this much talent - equating to a ton of potential - it feels like a overly long TV miniseries. Perhaps what's an even greater sin is it just doesn't accomplish all that much across the runtime, feeling either like a character study that lacks significant character development or a crime drama that lacks any actual payoff. 

Our film starts with a creepy opening of a woman being pestered on a highway by another vehicle. This segment is a mildly strong start, but it never feels totally explained. We then transfer over to Denzel's aged cop who must go to LA and pick up some evidence. It's clear he has a past here, of which we're not yet certain, and he's eager to leave. During that time he meets the hotshot new detective - played by a miscast Rami Malek (who still does fine, I guess) and together they awkwardly bond on their passion to resolve crimes. Both realize their are similarities between a current string of crimes and a previous crime in Denzel's past that involves a creepy Jared Leto. 

Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for a film like The Little Things, but it genuinely felt 3-4 hours long, and that's not an exaggeration. Partly because I was at home and took some breaks intermittently to do a couple other things (which is a bad habit I'll have to avoid with these HBO/theater releases), but I distinctly remember watching a very solid chunk of movie - 90 minutes I estimated - and was only 40-50 minutes in. The Little Things is slow and it feels slow. I almost avoid using the term "slow burn" here because often with slow burns, there's a payoff and/or they actually feel fast when they're effective. This instead feels like a lot of scenes with a lot of talking and not much forward momentum. What's worse is there are many scenes that - again, in hindsight - I couldn't tell you as to their purpose to the overall narrative or character development. They seem to be written in with a shoehorn, but not forced for any particular reason. 

"That man stole my bicycle! He must be held accountable!"

"Hey Denzel? Guess who's
bicycle I rode this morning?" 

All of this "slowness" could maybe have been worth it if the payoff was something incredible, but the film whimpers here too. It's final scenes suggest quite a big act of deception, but then when you trace that deception back to the why it had to occur in the first place (mere minutes previous in the film), it's all kind of dull and unengaging. In a lot of ways this reminded me of Nolan's Insomnia, but with less action, no Robin-Williams-caliber-performance, and no payoff.

So then what did I enjoy about The Little Things? As it turns out, a decent amount, but not near enough to save the film. It does a good job being an adult crime drama while it still has audience good-will. There's mystery and intrigue here and I was consistently wondering when the twist would emerge or something shocking would happen. Eventually you just stop waiting, but yeah...until then it was effective. The performances are largely good too. I think Leto's character feels both the most outlandish, but entertaining to watch. He's a manipulative "villain" with an awkward limp and a weird enjoyment of going toe-to-toe with law enforcement. Denzel is fine here, and his best scenes come with others present, but I can't honestly tell you it's a powerhouse performance from him. As I mentioned earlier, Malek feels miscast for most of the film, but even still he does fine work. When two - or particularly three - of them are together, the film is often at its best.

The Little Things is a film that should have worked, but ends up being a misfire. There's significant elements that feel off throughout its entirety and, while it may never be overtly bad, it's a film that you'd expect a certain quality from given the high-profile actors involved. Really it's a lot of bland, unmemorable material made only slightly more memorable by those said high-profile actors. 

CONS

• Feels much longer than it is. This is generally because its ineffective with its scene selection and because it feels like a TV miniseries
• Many scenes that go no where
• Feels stuck between being a character drama (with a lack of significant development) or a crime drama (with a lack of fulfilling payoff)
• Not a fan of the ending
• Malek feels miscast

PROS

• Leto gives probably the best - if not weirdest - performance of the bunch. Malek and Washington do good work too
• The film is at its best when all three are sharing the screen
• Until you realize it's not going anywhere, it build the mystery and tension well
• Fitting, recurring original score usage
• 1990s setting is interesting as it feels like a historical piece...but is from the year I was born (does that make me old now?)

Rath's Review Score | 6/10