Summary

• The Little Things had a lengthy 28-year journey to its 2021 release, with big-name directors like Spielberg showing interest.
• The film's throwback thriller vibe, set in the 1990s, may polarize audiences due to its dated techniques and aesthetic.
• Despite mixed reviews, The Little Things offers exciting twists and shock value in its conclusion for mystery lovers.

The HBO Max crime thriller all-star cast of Rami Malek, Jared Leto, and the great Denzel Washington, the movie received mixed reviews, ending with a 45% Rotten Tomatoes score.

The Little Things is now streaming on Netflix.

As mystery crime thrillers go, The Little Things ending offers some exciting shock value and entertaining twists to consider after the movie is done. Still, reviews for the film referred to it as a "throwback thriller," suggesting that its narrative and cinematic aesthetic felt more like a movie from the 1990s or early 2000s, which may appeal to some more than others. In a sense, those reviews actually nailed it, as The Little Things was written in 1993, meaning much of its technique is from a dated era of filmmaking, making it difficult to translate to modern cinema.

Several Notable Directors Were Attached To The Little Things Since 1993

Directors Like Steven Spielberg Were Interested In Making The Little Things

The first draft of The Little Things was written in 1993, but the movie ultimately didn't release until 2021. Such a troubling production could seem like an apparent cause for failure, but it's often the case that great movies have needed time to manifest. Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon took years, and Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga has been in the making longer than The Little Things. John Lee Hancock originally wrote the script in the early '90s, but the biggest issue was the difficulty of finding a director. In 2021, he grasped the opportunity to do it himself.

Before Hancock was attached to direct his own script, famous Hollywood names like Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Warren Beatty, and even Danny DeVito were intended to direct. In an interview with GQ, Hancock revealed the tumultuous path to getting the movie finally made, stating that he met with great filmmakers, but the conversations never materialized. Seeing how popular serial killer stories like Se7en or The Silence of the Lambs were in the 1990s, it's possible The Little Things could've been a classic in the era.

Why The Little Things Kept Its 1990s Setting

John Lee Hancock Kept The Original '90s Setting As It Made The Detective Work More Engaging

Despite the film's release taking place decades after the script was written, The Little Things' setting remained in the 1990s. In the interview, Hancock was asked whether they considered changing the movie to a contemporary setting, but he explained that the '90s being pre-DNA and pre-cell phones created more of a challenge for detective work. This could be one of the reasons for The Little Things' negative reviews, as the contrived period setting contributes to the feeling of a dated movie concept.

Sources: GQ