The Little Things
Warner Bros. | Release Date: January 29, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 48 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
24
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeMar 16, 2021
As the detectives start to lose the plot, so does the film, fizzling into an unravelling tangle of loose ends. Read full review
60
Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsFeb 2, 2021
The Little Things settles sleekly into its place as a movie of the week. That’s a satisfying enough ambition — even as the actors onscreen give performances that point to a richer, wilder movie. Read full review
60
Screen RantDebopriyaa DuttaJan 29, 2021
Although helmed by Washington’s visceral performance & nostalgia-addled slow-burn, The Little Things eventually falters due to its own clichéd tropes. Read full review
60
The AtlanticDavid SimsJan 28, 2021
Even the most mundane moments in The Little Things aren’t enough to stifle Washington’s star power. Almost nothing is. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 28, 2021
Thanks to Hancock’s craft and the discipline of the actors, it’s more than watchable, but you are unlikely to be haunted, disturbed or even surprised. You haven’t exactly seen this before. It just feels that way. Read full review
58
Paste MagazineChris StantonJan 29, 2021
If it’s hard to shake the feeling that The Little Things strives to be Se7en or Zodiac, it still manages to satisfy in a meat-and-potatoes sort of way, delivering its twists and turns effectively while having the confidence to not wrap things up too neatly by the end of its runtime. Read full review
55
CNNBrian LowryJan 28, 2021
Ultimately, The Little Things meanders a bit too much with stakeouts and the drudgery of police work before getting to the meat of its psychological core, which offers a provocative payoff, if not perhaps one good enough to fully justify the journey. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJan 30, 2021
It doesn’t entirely earn its twists, in part because it botches both the whodunit elements and the psychology of its characters. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJan 29, 2021
It’s fun to see Washington square off against a brace of performers who could not resemble him less in bearing and tone. Read full review
50
Original-CinLiam LaceyJan 27, 2021
The parts of The Little Things that are good aren’t original, and the parts that are original aren’t good. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 26, 2021
Because The Little Things is so indebted to the tenets of its genre, it can only succeed by bringing originality and a fresh perspective to the whodunit. Unfortunately, this film becomes a victim of its uninspired construction — which ends up being no small thing. Read full review
50
USA TodayBrian TruittJan 26, 2021
The movie's exploration of obsession and a sliding scale of what’s right vs. what’s wrong is among the aspects that Little Things does well. And there’s always some positive with Washington in a thriller like this. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJan 26, 2021
John Lee Hancock’s The Little Things blends two modes of the serial killer film, both of which have been shepherded by David Fincher. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJan 26, 2021
It’s a movie that's constantly on the verge of developing into something as intense and haunting as writer/director John Lee Hancock wants it to be, but it never achieves its goals, especially in its final half-hour. Some of the major stuff here works, including a performance from Washington that’s better than the movie around it (yet again), some striking L.A. cinematography, and an effective score, but one could say that it’s the little things that hold it back. A few big things too. Read full review
50
IGNTom JorgensenJan 26, 2021
It’s disappointing to see a triad of talented actors like Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto wasted in The Little Things, a straightforward and seldom surprising murder-mystery. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 12, 2021
The quality of the staff only sets the viewer wondering why they all signed up for this. And that’s before the late, sigh-making twist. It’ll do well enough for fans of 1990s artefacts. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyMar 12, 2021
The main disappointment, other than female characters who only exist to be disposed of, comes from recognising the kernel of something unusual buried in the film’s marrow. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 29, 2021
I owned a deep sense of discomfort (which the movie means us to feel) that gave way to increasing boredom until the search led to an appliance repair store in a seamy area of the San Fernando Valley, and to one of its employees, Albert Sparma, the suspect played by Mr. Leto. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleJan 28, 2021
Whatever points The Little Things scores for a morally ambiguous ending are washed away in the hours it takes to get there. Read full review
40
ScreenCrushMatt SingerJan 26, 2021
Some of The Little Things’ little things, like the nuances of Washington’s performance, are outstanding. This film is a reminder that the big things are important, too. Read full review
40
VarietyOwen GleibermanJan 26, 2021
This sort of clinical detective movie hinges on creating a feeling of revelation, a kind of horror-saturated awe. The Little Things is just a warmed-over set of serial-killer-thriller clichés, like crime-scene photos we’ve seen before. And some of it doesn’t track all that well. Read full review
40
Vanity FairRichard LawsonJan 26, 2021
The Little Things is somehow both lazy and overly adorned, a lugubrious movie that spends all its indulgence on the easiest, most obvious of tropes. Read full review
40
EmpireDan JolinJan 26, 2021
A throwback thriller which brings nothing new to a crowded genre, and has little to say along the way. They don’t make ’em like this anymore, and, to be honest, they probably shouldn’t. Read full review
40
The GuardianBenjamin LeeJan 26, 2021
It’s a film trapped between a low- and a highbrow version of a story we know all too well, landing firmly in the middle of the road. Read full review
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