The Little Things

It should actually be a routine job for small-town deputy Joe "Deke" Deacon (Denzel Washington): The former big city cop is supposed to just check out some evidence in Los Angeles. Since obstacles are put in his way, he has to stay longer in the city than planned. As a result, he becomes involved in the investigation of a serial killer, whereby the lead investigator, Sergeant Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), quickly becomes aware of Deke's special instincts. Unofficially, Baxter enlists Deke's help, and sure enough, the two men soon find a hot lead together. But the closer they get to the killer, the more Deke must confront the secrets of his vergence - and they are extremely disturbing...

"The Little Things" has had a long genesis. Director John Lee Hancock wrote the script almost 30 years ago. Again and again new directors were connected with the realization of the project, but nothing came of it for a long time. Now Hancock himself has taken a seat in the director's chair and has realized the thriller with a strong trio of actors. The production is atmospheric, but also a bit stale. You can tell the film was made at a time when thrillers like "Sieben" set the tone. The comparison to Fincher's classic almost forces itself upon you, which doesn't necessarily do "The Little Things" any good.

However, the gritty story has a premise that's not uninteresting. Its focus is on the work of two dissimilar investigators, revealing more and more of Deke's mental depths in the process. Thanks to Denzel Washington - whose new dubbing voice I still have to get used to - this is transported really convincingly. But unfortunately the script leaves too many questions unanswered to really understand the motivation of the cop. Also the actual plot around the serial killer reveals again and again a lot of potential for suspense, but that is also only marginally exploited.

This unfortunately creates a certain boredom, which is not exactly conducive to the overall impression despite many positive aspects. Washington plays just as intensely as Rami Malek and Jared Leto. But the script doesn't give the three of them enough of a foundation on which to build their acting. As a result, a lot of their characters' potential goes untapped and the story increasingly loses its power to captivate. The imagery on the other hand is really great, but the good acting of the actors and the visual atmosphere alone aren't enough to carry the movie over its weaknesses. So "The Little Things" is a solid thriller, where the criticisms clearly trump the strengths. So all in all only with cutbacks still worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp