Review of The Little Things (2021) by Compi24 — 30 Jan 2021

A noted passion project of writer/director John Lee Hancock's that's been in the making for somewhere around 30 years, "The Little Things" definitely has all the surface-level elements to convince you of that eponymous passion.

The cast is stacked with Oscar winners. The cinematography is evocative and appropriately seedy. Even the soundtrack finds Thomas Newman operating at a relatively notable level. The problem here is that when you really dig into the intangibles of this picture, you really start to understand how badly this movie needed to be produced in its initial heyday - the 1990's.

From the familiar structure, to the trope-y stylings littered throughout, to the deeply problematic nature of the film's conclusion, all of it sings of a movie from years ago that's watchable, but really hasn't aged all that well.

Problem is, this movie was produced in the present day, thus making its issues even more flagrant. It's not terrible, but really, truly needed a second look in the pre-production phase of things.