The Little Things (2021 film)

The Little Things is a 2021 American neo-noir crime film written and directed by John Lee Hancock,[4][5] and produced by Hancock and Mark Johnson. The plot follows two police officers (Denzel Washington and Rami Malek) who try to catch a serial killer in 1990 Los Angeles, when they find a strange man (Jared Leto) who becomes their top suspect. Chris Bauer, Michael Hyatt, Terry Kinney, and Natalie Morales also star.

The Little Things
Official promotional poster
Directed byJohn Lee Hancock
Produced by
Written byJohn Lee Hancock
Starring
Music byThomas Newman
CinematographyJohn Schwartzman
Edited byRobert Frazen
Production
company
Gran Via Productions
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • January 29, 2021 (2021-01-29)
Running time
127 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[1]
Box office$7.6 million[2][3]

The Little Things was released in the United States on January 29, 2021 by Warner Bros. Pictures, as well as a month-long simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances, direction, and atmosphere, but noted the film as familiar and criticized the screenplay, with some comparing it unfavorably to the 1995 film Seven. For his performance, Leto received Best Supporting Actor nominations at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Plot

One night in 1990, a girl drives on a highway, stalked by a motorist. She pulls over at a gas station, where the motorist follows her. The gas station is closed and she is forced to run through the desert. She catches the attention of a passing truck driver, escaping from the pursuit.

Some time later in Bakersfield, Kern County deputy sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon is called to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to collect evidence pertaining to a recent murder. Deacon, a former L.A. Sheriff's detective, accompanies recently appointed lead detective Jimmy Baxter to the scene of a new murder in L.A. Deacon notices similarities between the M.O. of the killing and the M.O. of an old serial murder case he was unable to solve.

That night, a woman, named Ronda Rathbun, is followed by a car while jogging and is reported missing the following morning. Baxter learns from the precinct's captain, Farris, that Deacon got divorced and suffered a heart attack due to his obsession with the unsolved case. He's advised not to involve him any further but Deacon takes vacation leave to assist in solving Baxter's case.

The next night, the police discover the body of another victim washed up beneath a bridge. Baxter learns the M.O. is consistent with the earlier murder and earlier killings: the victims were all prostitutes stabbed to death. Deacon begins investigating Albert Sparma, a suspect working at a repair store in proximity to the murders. Deacon tails Sparma, but is thwarted, so he brings Sparma in for questioning. Sparma taunts the detectives while under interrogation, and is released after provoking Deacon into an angry outburst.

The FBI is called in to take charge of the investigation within the week, giving Deacon and Baxter less time. Farris informs Baxter that eight years prior, Sparma confessed to a murder which he couldn't have committed since he was ten miles away from it at the time. Also that he's obsessed with crime and is thus an unreliable suspect. After an unsuccessful search of Sparma's apartment the two detectives tail Sparma to a strip club the following night. Baxter corners Sparma alone and demands to know Rathbun's location. Sparma offers to drive him to where he supposedly hid Rathbun's body, and Baxter cautiously agrees while Deacon follows.

Sparma takes Baxter to a remote area in the desert and has him dig several holes before admitting that he never killed anyone. Baxter is skeptical, and continues digging. Sparma begins to taunt him, until Baxter snaps and strikes him in the face with a shovel, killing him. As Deacon arrives, a flashback reveals that he accidentally shot one of the survivors of his last murder case, and that Farris and Dunigan, the coroner, helped cover it up. Deacon instructs Baxter to bury Sparma in the desert. Deacon spends the night collecting everything in Sparma's apartment and returns to the desert the following morning to find that Baxter has not buried Sparma and is still searching for the victim. Baxter is desperate to believe Sparma is the killer, hoping it will clear his conscience and close the case. Deacon advises him to forget about the case or it will haunt him for life.

Later on, Baxter receives an envelope containing a red barrette supposedly worn by Rathbun the night of her disappearance. At his home, Deacon burns the rest of the evidence he found at the apartment. He also burns a new pack of barrettes with the red one missing.

Cast

Production

Development

The first draft was written by Hancock in 1993 for Steven Spielberg to direct, but Spielberg passed because he felt the story was too dark. Clint Eastwood, Warren Beatty, and Danny DeVito were all separately attached to direct before Hancock decided to helm his own screenplay.[6]

Casting

In March 2019, Denzel Washington signed on to star in the film.[7] In May, Rami Malek joined the cast.[8] In August, Jared Leto entered into talks for the role of the suspected serial killer, Albert Sparma.[9] Natalie Morales, Joris Jarsky, Sheila Houlahan and Sofia Vassilieva were cast in September.[10][11] In October, Michael Hyatt, Kerry O'Malley, Jason James Richter, Isabel Arraiza and John Harlan Kim joined the cast of the film.[12][13][14] In November, Chris Bauer joined the cast.

Filming

Principal photography began on September 2, 2019, in Los Angeles, California.[15] Principal photography wrapped in December 2019.[16]

Music

The film's score was composed by Thomas Newman.[17]

Release

The film was theatrically released in the United States on January 29, 2021 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It also had a simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service for 31 days, as part of Warner Bros.' plans for all of its 2021 films.[18][19] It was the most-watched item on the platform in its debut weekend.[20]

Reception

Box office

As of January 31, 2021, The Little Things has grossed $4.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $2.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $7.6 million.[3]

Domestically, the film was projected to gross around $2.5 million in its opening weekend.[21] It ended up debuting to $4.8 million from 2,171 theaters, topping the box office; 55% of the audience was male, while 80% were over the age of 25.[22] Overseas, the film grossed $2.8 million from 18 markets for a worldwide start of $7.6 million.[20]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 47% of 195 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "An exceptionally well-cast throwback thriller, The Little Things will feel deeply familiar to genre fans -- for better and for worse."[23] According to Metacritic, which assigned it a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 based on 45 critics, the film received "mixed or average reviews".[24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 67% gave the film a positive score, with 40% saying they would definitely recommend it.[22]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of B and compared it to Seven, writing: "The Little Things is pulpy and ridiculous and requires some major suspension of belief, but — if you didn't know any better — you might even say it's beautiful."[25] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "If the director's generally taut original screenplay settles on an ending too cryptic to be fully satisfying, the performances of Denzel Washington and Rami Malek as cops from the old school and the new who end up having more in common than they anticipated supply enough glue to hold everything together. Add in Jared Leto as the taunting weirdo who becomes their prime suspect in a series of brutal murders, and you have a suspenseful crime thriller with a dark allure."[26]

Writing for The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, writing: "Hancock keeps the action moving briskly and with little tonal confusion, highlighting just what a polished studio-favoured professional can do when given gobs of money and zero intellectual-property obligations. And his trio of leading men are all given ample space to play to their strengths."[27] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying: "...at a time when even small-screen procedurals have perma-frowned detectives who spend more time haunted by their past than actually solving crimes in the present, it all feels a little too familiar and a little too minor."[28] Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, and said: "It feels like Hancock is trying to tell a very True Detective story—one about how a case can pull the people investigating it apart from the inside in a way that breaks them forever—but he can't figure out how to shape that into an intriguing mystery simultaneously."[29]

Nick Schager of The Daily Beast wrote: "The ghost of Seven lives on with The Little Things, as does Denzel Washington's search for the type of great serial killer thriller he missed out on when he turned down the lead role in David Fincher's 1995 genre classic. John Lee Hancock's film... is deeply indebted in both style and plot particulars to that predecessor, although unfortunately for it—and its headliner—its modest suspense is largely offset by the fact that there's nothing substantial or especially original lurking beneath its eerie exterior."[30]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Golden Globe Awards February 28, 2021 Best Supporting Actor Jared Leto Pending [31]
Screen Actors Guild Awards April 4, 2021 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Jared Leto Pending [32]

References
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  5. Menta, Anna (January 27, 2021). "'The Little Things' Review: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek Shine In This Neo-Noir Thriller". Decider. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
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  32. SAG Awards Nominations: ‘Ma Rainey’, ‘Minari’ Lead Film List; ‘The Crown’, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Top TV And ‘Bridgerton’ Arrives
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