Certification. 15
Director. John Lee Hancock
Cast. Jared Leto, Rami Malek, Denzel Washington.
Rating. 37%
For a film boasting three Academy Award-winning actors, The Little Things is a hugely disappointing offering from writer and director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks and The Highwaymen).
The ever-dependable Denzel Washington plays Kern County Sheriff, Joe Deacon. Sent to the Los Angeles Police Department for the routine collection of evidence Deacon rapidly becomes embroiled in the hunt for a serial killer. Denzel Washington tries his best to elevate the part, but he is working in isolation. Rami Malek is woefully miscast as Detective Jim Baxter, and awkwardly ill-suited for the role. Whereas Jared Leto overplays his performance as the prime suspect, Albert Sparma to the point of parody or caricature.
The first hour of The Little Things is painfully slow and the second hour predictable, falling into many of the cliches associated with the serial killer genre. There is a lack of tension, and above all, cohesion. The finale is rushed.
The Little Things is perhaps burdened by the weight of the serial killer back catalogue and the overly familiar storyline of a detective (literally) haunted by their past. For despite the best intentions, there is little gravity or substance to The Little Things. The film is shallow and formulaic. The Little Things does not offer the cold realism of Zodiac or Prisoners, the psychological torment of Se7en or Insomnia or the edge-of-your-seat terror of Manhunter or The Silence of the Lambs. Instead, the film is a mediocre, drab affair.
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