Movie Review: The Little Things

 Movie: The Little Things

Stars: 3 

Theatre: Crown Gold Class

This isn't a film I'd see off my own back, but it was Blarney's birthday the other week and I asked her what she wanted to see, and this was it. It wasn't really on my radar, but being her birthday, the birthday girl gets her wish. Besides it was rated M, so it wasn't going to be too gruesome or violent and the cast, with Denzel Washington, Rami Malik and Jared Leto, was not going to be too bad at all. 

I was underwhelmed by this. Looking at its reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems I wasn't the only one who thought this. 

IMDB.com gives the plot as "Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing the city."

And that's about all you need to know. Denzel Washington is fine as the cop who's burnt a few bridges. Rami Malik is good as Joe Baxter, the troubled up and comer who works with Deacon on the case, being warned off having much to do with him after he made some controversial decisions a few years ago.

And then there is a greasy-haired, pot-bellied Jared Leto as the suppose killer. He's creepy. Really creepy, and is one of the better bits of the film.

On the good side it has a killer soundtrack (pardon the pun) and the early 90's era is depicted well. And the acting is fine, but it's really not all that much chop. The film lacks any sort of emotional pull. You don't know who to trust, who to like or what is going on. The backstory is laboured. 

There's a lot of  "did he / didn't he?" sort of action as you are kept wondering who did what and to whom. The cinematographer is dark and gritty. John Lee Hancock's direction is okay. The film plods on, but it's not of the same calibre as The Blind Side and Saving Mr Banks.

A comment on RottenTomatoes.com read, "It wants to be Se7en, but it isn't half of that." I tend to agree. It could easily have been half an hour shorter (It's a long two hours, seven minutes). It's dark and gritty and it shows the underbelly of Los Angeles with aplomb. 

But I don't have much more to say about this. It's not on my radar. It's not really my type of film and I can't really recommend it.

Ah well. Blarney enjoyed it. That's the main thing. 

And the song of the day was the first song of the film. I thought I was in for something good.

Today's song: