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The Little Things

2021

John Lee Hancock

Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto, Chris Bauer ...

5.7

10,826

Thriller The story follows a burned-out Kern County deputy sheriff named Deke, played by Washington, who teams with a crack LASD detective (Malek), Baxter, to reel in a wily serial killer. Deke’s nose for the “little things” proves eerily accurate, but his willingness to circumvent the rules embroils Baxter in a soul-shattering dilemma. Meanwhile, Deke must wrestle with a dark secret from his past.

	Media	Author	Review
		Owen Gleiberman Variety	"A recycled thriller that lacks revelation (...) 'The Little Things' is just a warmed-over set of serial-killer-thriller clichés"
		David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"Hancock doesn't match the surgical efficiency of the best noir screenwriting, but he's good with dialogue and character (...) What keeps the film gripping is its textured scrutiny of the principal characters"
		Scott Mendelson Forbes	"It’s certainly well-acted and atmosphere to spare, but it feels like a cheaper offshoot of what would have been a big-deal studio thriller back in the day"
		Dan Jolin Empire	"A throwback thriller which brings nothing new to a crowded genre, and has little to say along the way. They don’t make ’em like this anymore, and, to be honest, they probably shouldn’t (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"It’s a movie that's constantly on the verge of developing into something as intense and haunting as writer/director John Lee Hancock wants it to be, but it never achieves its goals (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"
		Richard Lawson Vanity Fair	"Three Oscar-winning actors walk into a movie and, well, nothing much happens. Such is the dreary fate of 'The Little Things'"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"[It is] held aloft by the gravitational pull of its star power (...) Hancock’s fun and unusual riff on the serial killer genre proves rewarding"
		Brian Truitt USA Today	"'The Little Things' is like a 1990s crime thriller that’s been sitting on a shelf for 20 or so years. Honestly, it probably should have stayed there (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"
		A.A. Dowd AV Club	"[It] is pure boilerplate. There’s scarcely a moment in the movie that doesn’t recall a dozen predecessors (...) [Hancock] has the good sense to steal from the best"
		Benjamin Lee The Guardian	"[Denzel Washington's] reliable presence can’t save a drab, self-important procedural that can’t quite decide if it wants to be thrilling or thoughtful (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Matt Goldberg Collider	"'The Little Things' is fine for some stylish cinematography and reliably great Washington performance, but those don’t make up for all the other places where the film stumbles."
		Tom Jorgensen IGN	"Even a star-studded trifecta of leads can't save the tired, formulaic serial killer thriller 'The Little Things'"
		Robert Daniels Polygon	"The shift from a duo to trio transforms 'The Little Things' into an alluring ode to David Fincher’s 'Se7en' (...) [It] is a fascinating cat-and-mouse game"
		Jeffrey M. Anderson Common Sense Media	"This thriller suffers from somewhat jarring plot turns, some overcooked performances, and other flaws, but the sturdy, classical direction and Washington's anguished performance make it worth seeing."
		Matt Singer Screen Crush	"A sleepy drama recycled from many superior films"
		Peter Travers ABC News	"A terrific, twisty, killer-on-the-loose thriller (...) Although writer-director John Lee Hancock can't hide the film's widening gaps in logic, he cuts to the chase with enough efficiency to keep you riveted"
		Johnny Oleksinski New York Post	"Denzel Washington cop thriller is a dud (...) The No. 1 rule for any detective story: The mystery cannot be boring (...) If the movie feels like it’s going nowhere, that’s because it is (…) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)"

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