When three heavyweight kings of the big screen come together, you stop and watch -- no matter what it is. But seeing Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto come together for a serial killer crime thriller is almost too great to take.
Starring in John Lee Hancock’s “The Little Things,” Denzel is Joe Deason, a cop who retires to the country after dealing with a rough case a number of years back. Set in the 1990’s, Joe is drawn back into the city for a new murder case that desperately needs his skills.
Hancock brilliantly framed his heart-pumping story with interesting counterpoints to Washington’s cop: Rami Malek as his counterpart, Seargeant Jim Baxter, and Jared Leto as the loner suspect Albert Sparma, who may or may not be guilty of the crimes.
“They don’t strike me as the types that would hang out or go to a bar and watch sports,” Hancock told the AP. “I thought that would really benefit the movie.”
The Little Things has all the elements of a must-see film, one that will hold you spellbound with enough unpredictability and amazing performances to keep you guessing until the end.
Check out the trailer below:
Just as their characters are wildly different, so were the actors’ preparation methods. According to Hancock, Washington was in constant communication with him, while Leto was completely distant and only arrived when it was time to shoot. This kept the energy fresh and allowed spontaneous sparks to fly on camera.
“It was like they were smelling each other. They’re feeling each other out. It just was electric because they hadn’t been in a room together and hadn’t been buddy-buddy,” Hancock said. “It was Albert Sparma and Joe Deacon.”
“Both of these actors are Academy Award winners like myself. We’re all three world champions, if you will. So you know you’re getting in the ring with two world champions,” Washington said. “It wakes you up.”
The Little Things opened in theaters on Jan. 29 and began streaming on HBO Max the same day.
