THE LITTLE THINGS (2021) *** ½

By reviewing this, my first 2021 release of the new year, I am calling a moratorium on my Hindsight is 2020 column.  That means I should have the nominations for this year’s Video Vacuum Awards up sometime this week.  Until then, let’s dive into the crackling serial killer thriller, The Little Things. 

Denzel Washington stars as a disgraced former detective who’s been busted down to a regular patrolman in a small town.  While in the big city picking up evidence for a nothing case, he winds up seeing his old friends and co-workers.  As a gesture of goodwill, the hotshot detective (Rami Malek) who took his old job invites him to ride along on a crime scene investigation.  The old wheels start turning, and pretty soon, he starts working the case to stop a serial killer before he strikes again. 

This is an excellent showcase for Washington, who gives a powerhouse performance.  Playing above his age, he’s a little older and slower than we’re used to seeing, but he’s just as smart and determined to crack the case.  He’s especially good when he sees the ghosts of the victims pleading for help. 

Malek makes for a good foil.  He’s from the new school, but he’s smart enough to bow to Washington’s experience and knowhow when it suits the case.  They have a good rapport with one another that drives the plot forward.  We also get a fine turn by Jared Leto as the prime suspect.  He looks like a gaunt and creepy Jesus and is more successful at being slyly menacing here than he was as the Joker. 

The film is set in the ‘90s, and rightly so.  Not only was that the heyday of serial killer movies, but it was an era of no internet and DNA.  That meant cops had to catch killers using their own wits and good old-fashioned detective work. 

The Little Things is fine, absorbing stuff for about two-thirds of the way through.  The final act is sure to divide viewers, especially given the current climate.  At the risk of giving something away, I’ll only state that the film is less about catching a killer and more about living with the prospect that you might not.  Either that, or maybe you’re trying to capture a killer for all the wrong reasons.  Instead of doing it because it’s the right thing to do, you’re only doing it to help you sleep at night. 

The big confrontation is dragged out far too long.  The final scenes would’ve been just as effective even without the stuff with Leto playing mind games with Malek.  I think the symbolism of these scenes (again, I don’t want to spoil it) is a bit too on-the-nose.  Still, what comes after that scene is genuinely unnerving and has stuck with me ever since I saw it.  I highly recommended it to fans of Washington and the serial killer genre in general.