Golden Globes 2021: The Little Things
I’m gonna make an extremely general comment but treat it as a fact based purely on anecdotal evidence based on a small sample size, but we’re gonna roll with it, okay?
Every teenager in the early aughts and 2010s had a crime and/or medical procedural show of choice. There were an abundance of options and all of them ran for approximately a million years, perfect for marathoning on TBS. You have your diehard Law and Order and all spin-off fans for those that enjoy a courtroom drama, CSI for people more interested in the scientific side, and, to this very day, Grey’s Anatomy for people who like having their hearts ripped out of their chests, or whatever. I didn’t watch any of those specific shows, but for years I was a a die hard Bones and House fan, until both of those shows dragged on too long and the writers were forced to retcon all their character development just to keep the shows alive.
Anyway, all of this is a long tangent just to say that The Little Things felt like a two hour long cop show/crime procedural/forensic drama more than a psychological thriller, which is how I saw it described online. To be safe, I did watch it in broad daylight, as one must when the prospect of a psychological thriller is thrust upon them, but was grateful to realize it was just a kind of neo-noir not-quite-buddy-cop-but-still-odd-cop-couple film where Rami Malek and Denzel Washington play a new school and old school cop, respectively, who team up to try and solve a serial killer case that’s been driving them both crazy. Jared Leto also stars and is Golden Globe nominated for his role as their prime suspect in the case.
The film takes place in LA in the 90s, which was kind of fun for me, and felt gritty and dark in that vintage crime movie way. Additionally, the serial killer preys on women in a creepy and sexual way, so that was fun for me, as a young woman who currently lives alone in a big city. But, like many male driven crime dramas, it wasn’t really about the (mostly white, young, beautiful) female victims of the crimes, it was about the two men trying to solve it and how it had the potential to tear both of them apart. Rami Malek and Denzel Washington both do their jobs well and, you know, play cops, which feels weird to do in a way that isn’t really morally ambiguous in this, the year of our lord 2021. After a year where police brutality finally came to the forefront of the national conversation, straight forward crime dramas hit differently. While neither Malek nor Washington’s characters are free from unscrupulous and violent behavior, the story focuses on how their choices affect them, not the society they vow to protect.
Leto’s the only nominee from the film for his role as the crime-obsessed, creepy, all-around weirdo who’s their prime suspect on the case. I understand why this kind of role is award bait, but honestly, Jared Leto is so weird that nominating him for playing a weirdo doesn’t seem super revelatory to me. One of the many things that is complicated about acting awards is that you’re also nominating the writer, because each actor is only as good as the material they’re given, and in the particular case I feel that Leto is being nominated at least in part for the material. He was awfully creepy.
Anyway, I didn’t love this movie, but it was far from unwatchable. If you’re a bigger fan of the crime genre it might be perfect for you, or you might hate it more because it’s unoriginality will be more glaring. There are a handful of late in the game plot twists and I would be curious how predictable they are for an audience more well-versed in the genre, so if that applies to you please let me know.
Okay friends, we’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel of Golden Globe nominees, but the good news is the show is on Sunday so we are almost done! Stay tuned for a final wrap up of nominees including my own personal choices as well as predictions of what I actually think will happen.
The Little Things is streaming on HBOMax through February 28.