The Little Things

Director: John Lee Hancock
Year Released: 2021
Rating: 2.0

Deputy Sheriff Deacon (Denzel Washington) gets sent to Los Angeles to gather evidence for a recent murder and finds himself in the middle of a hunt for a serial killer - who (primarily) targets prostitutes - along with Baxter (Rami Malek) ... except things aren't so cut and dry, and their prime suspect (Jared Leto) is an odd character.  Police procedurals are everywhere nowadays and Hancock stacks up all the expected elements - hot shot detective, grizzled older cop haunted by the past, hard-boiled cop banter ("Deke's got his own style"), random philosophizing ("Word to the wise, Jimmy, stay out of the angel business") - so it all feels really familiar, except with three Oscar winners running the lines.  Some people might not like the ending - which feels like a kick in the gut (like a certain movie from the 90's directed by David Fincher) - but that's the most ambitious thing about it: it dares to end ambiguously.