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The Little Things(2021)
Warner Bros. Jan 29, 2021 | Wide
Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing the city.
Releases
Original Release | Jan 29, 2021
Box Office
Results
$4,705,527
$15,342,746
$15,500,000
$30,842,746
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Surround 7.1
Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Summaries
Plot Summary
- One night in 1990, a girl drives on a highway, stalked by a motorist. She pulls over at a gas station, where the motorist follows her. The gas station is closed and she is forced to run through the desert. She catches the attention of a passing truck driver, escaping from the pursuit.Some time later in Bakersfield, Kern County deputy sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon is called to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to collect evidence pertaining to a recent murder. Deacon is a former L.A. Sheriff's detective and, for reasons later revealed, is disliked by most of the cops in L.A. One of the few people who seems happy to see him is Flo Dunigan, the coroner. Deacon still has a reputation for being a good detective and ends up going with recently appointed lead detective Jimmy Baxter to the scene of the latest in a string of murders that has been going on in L.A. Deacon notices similarities between the M.O. of the killing and the M.O. of an old serial murder case he was unable to solve.That night, a woman, named Ronda Rathbun, is followed by a car while jogging and is reported missing the following morning. Baxter learns from the precinct's captain, Farris, that Deacon got divorced and suffered a heart attack due to his obsession with the unsolved case. He's advised not to involve him any further but Deacon takes vacation leave to assist in solving Baxter's case.The next night, the police discover the body of another victim washed up beneath a bridge. Baxter learns the M.O. is consistent with the earlier murder and earlier killings: the victims were all prostitutes stabbed to death. Deacon begins investigating Albert Sparma, a suspect working at a repair store in proximity to the murders. Deacon tails Sparma. Sparma knows he is being followed and taunts Deacon by parking on the side of the highway right where one of the bodies was found. They bring Sparma in for questioning. Sparma mocks the detectives while under interrogation, and is released after provoking Deacon into an angry outburst. Also during this part of the movie the only person who has possibly seen the killer, the girl from the opening scene of the movie, is brought in to try and identify the killer but because she accidentally sees Sparma in the hallway her testimony is tainted and useless to the police.The FBI is called in to take charge of the investigation within the week, giving Deacon and Baxter less time. Farris informs Baxter that eight years prior, Sparma confessed to a murder which he couldn't have committed since he was ten miles away from it at the time. Also that he's obsessed with crime and is thus an unreliable suspect. Baxter and Deacon go to Sparma's apartment and conduct an illegal search. As Deacon searches the apartment and finds a hiding spot under the floorboards that contains newspaper clippings of the crimes they suspect Sparma of committing. A police scanner in the apartment alerts Deacon that police are on their way to the apartment and he escapes from Sparma's home after Sparma called in an "officer down". Police arrive and Deacon barely escapes. Baxter sees Sparma watching the escape. After an unsuccessful search of Sparma's apartment the two detectives tail Sparma to a strip club the following night. While Deacon gets coffee Sparma confronts Baxter alone. Baxter demands to know Rathbun's location. Sparma offers to drive him to where he supposedly hid Rathbun's body, and Baxter cautiously agrees. Sparma tries to leave without Deacon but he sees them in Sparma's car and follows in Deacons.Sparma takes Baxter to a remote area in the desert and has him dig several holes before admitting that he never killed anyone. Baxter is skeptical, and continues digging. Sparma begins to taunt him, until Baxter snaps and strikes him in the face with a shovel, killing him. As Deacon arrives, a flashback reveals that he accidentally shot one of the survivors of his last murder case, and that Farris and Dunigan, the coroner, helped cover it up. Deacon instructs Baxter to bury Sparma in the desert. Deacon spends the night collecting everything in Sparma's apartment and returns to the desert the following morning to find that Baxter has not buried Sparma and is still searching for the victim. Baxter is desperate to believe Sparma is the killer, hoping it will clear his conscience and close the case. Deacon advises him to forget about the case or it will haunt him for life.Later, at his home, Baxter receives an envelope sent by Deacon, containing a red barrette like the one Ronda Rathbun was wearing when she was abducted. Back in Kern County, Deacon burns everything he collected in the apartment, along with a brand new four-pack of barrettes that's missing a red barrette.
Storyline
- Deke ( Denzel Washington ), a burnt-out Kern County, CA deputy sheriff teams up with Baxter ( Rami Malek ), a crack LASD detective, to nab a serial killer. Deke's nose for the "little things" proves eerily accurate, but his willingness to circumvent the rules embroils Baxter in a soul-shattering dilemma. Meanwhile, Deke must wrestle with a dark secret from his past. — cochiseledoux Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a killer who is terrorizing the city. Leading the hunt, L.A. Sheriff Department Sergeant Jim Baxter, impressed with Deke's cop instincts, unofficially engages his help. But as they track the killer, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case. Yearning for closure, after the case that nearly broke him, the guilt-ridden Kern County deputy sheriff with the infallible instinct, Joe Deacon, once the pride of the Los Angeles Police Department, finds himself embroiled in a high-profile manhunt that has the entire city terrified. After two long months of fruitless efforts, six victims, no witnesses, no evidence, and the maniac still on the loose, Deacon's successor, the media-savvy lead detective, Jim Baxter, knows that, now, more than ever, he needs all the help he can get. And, more and more, this frenzied serial-killer hunt bears an uncanny resemblance to a cold case from five years earlier. But, how do you find redemption when the truth lies hidden in the little things? — Nick Riganas
