Review of The Little Things
midlandsmovies • March 13, 2021
The Little Things (2021) Dir. John Lee Hancock [possible minor spoilers]
A triple-whammy of Oscar-winning actors (Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto) star in a new crime thriller that sees two detectives in the 90s investigating a series of murders around Los Angeles.
With overt influences from 1995’s Seven, we get an experienced cop (Washington as “Deke” Deacon) who has left the LAPD for a smaller force after a heart attack and his own murky history. The new hot shot is Remi Malek as Jimmy Baxter (taking the Brad Pitt role) whose smarmy exterior clashes with Deke’s old school methodical style.
Seeing a pattern between one of Deke’s old cases and a current spate of killings, they stumble upon suspect Albert Sparma (Jared Leto) who taunts the officers after becoming the prime person of interest.
Again, like Seven, our cocky lead is later shown not to be in control of the situation as he’d like as we roll through the standard beats of a multiple-murder movie. However, much unlike Seven, it’s quite obvious from the outset who the culprit could be and so the obvious mystery element needed for police procedural flicks is pretty much absent. Detective Deke’s own secret is perhaps a more interesting angle the film could have focused on.
And like his previous film The Highwaymen, Hancock’s central plot has huge aspects of potential but the slow pacing and lack of intrigue hurts this film much like that one. Jared Leto is the film’s highlight, as he appears to be having a ball delivering arrogant retorts as the overconfident accused, whilst the film’s dark score captivates when the film does not.
A one-note thriller with only a few thrills, The Little Things may pull you into the case on the basis of the three fantastic actors. But aside from these performances, you’d have to be a heck of a detective to find anything truly original, and ultimately fascinating in this average Fincher facsimile.
★★½
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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