In Theaters and Streaming on HBO MAX: 01.29
It’s always interesting to look at an established filmmaker’s earlier work as opposed to their later, more polished films. Occasionally, you get a mixture of both in the same movie.
The Little Things is a screenplay that John Lee Hancock developed way back in the ’90s, with
Steven Spielberg intended as the director, though the cinematic legend ultimately passed on it because it was just too dark for his sensibilities.
The Little Things follows Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon (
Denzel Washington), who is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a killer who is terrorizing the city. Leading the hunt, L.A. Sheriff Department Sergeant Jim Baxter (
Writer-director John Lee Hancock is not on Hollywood’s gritty-drama speed dial. In
The Highwaymen, the writer-director told the story of Bonnie and Clyde by sidestepping the danger inherent in Arthur Penn’s classic for a sanguine dad/road movie about the cops who chased them. In
The Blind Side, rather than confronting the real racial and socioeconomic inequities Black folks like Michael Oher face, Hancock highlighted the efforts of his white, adoptive mother. The director, based on his record, would seem ill-equipped to map his penchant for feel-good stories onto a vicious landscape, and even less suited to tackling a psychologically intense neo-noir wherein moral ambiguity reigns.
John Lee Hancock Makes Audiences Think About Little Things
Tim Gray, provided by
FacebookTwitterEmail
Warner Bros.’ “The Little Things” launches Jan. 29, marking the end of a 28-year journey for writer-director John Lee Hancock. It was worth the wait.
At various times, people attached to the project included Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Warren Beatty and Danny DeVito. “Little Things” is a classic Hollywood case of waiting for the right elements to come together.
More from Variety
“Back in the ‘90s,” Hancock says, “There was a lot of excitement over the script, but one executive said, ‘We’ll make the film if you change the third act.’ I said ‘That’s the precise reason I wrote it.’”
Skip to main content
Currently Reading The Little Things Review: Denzel Washington and Rami Malek Team Up to Find a Serial Killer in a Recycled Thriller That Lacks Revelation The Little Things Review: Denzel Washington and Rami Malek Team Up to Find a Serial Killer in a Recycled Thriller That Lacks Revelation
John Lee Hancock s film cribs a lot from Se7en and Manhunter, which may be why it feels like a rerun.
Owen Gleiberman, provided by