Nothing happens in "The Little Things"

The star-studded cast shines brightly against a very lackluster script.

⭐⭐½

I was super excited to watch this movie. I forced my mom to watch it with me, and we sat down with some popcorn excited to see these three electrifying actors all on-screen together. Disappointingly, all we got was... nothing.

Nothing happens in this film. The acting is incredible, there's no denying that. Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto (along with the supporting cast too!) are the only reasons that we did not stop the movie. Their acting, their chemistry, everything they did was incredible. They made a very lackluster script seem like a masterpiece.

It's too bad that the quality of the acting was not reflected in the script (and some of the directing). Some very strange shots, along with a very unsatisfying (and convoluted) storyline, lead this film to be a major dud. I looked at my mom afterward and said to her, "nothing happened in this movie" and the only thing she said was "yeah. You're right." The script is boring. It tries to build up tension, it tries to make us care about Washington's and Malek's character, but falls short of delivering.

The climax of it all, an epically shot scene between Jared Leto and Rami Malek, does not make up for anything. I wish that sentence could have gone another way. I wish I could say the climax made it all worth it. It did not. It was something that was not earned. It made the climax of Minions look Pulitzer worthy. The lack of build-up and lack of tension made the most pivotal moment in the film fall completely flat.

If you want to see three highly-regarded actors do their things perfectly, then this is worth it. Jared Leto is particularly good, really showing that he knows how to play a psychopath (sociopath?). He is an amazing actor, as are Malek and Washington, and their skills are shown in all their strength here.

"The World According to Garp was better than this," said my mom, and she did not like that movie. This definitely ends up at the back of my 2021 list so far, which you can check out here: https://boxd.it/aPQpg

54/100

Enjoyment: C

"The Little Things" is now streaming on HBO MAX and in limited release in theaters.