(Credit: Alamy)

Hollywood has always loved detective stories. Lots have been made which are loud and have tonnes of chase scenes, but the viewers today want more substance and fewer cars. The slower kind, where two people stare at a crime scene a little too long because the real issue is something they are not saying. The Little Things comes straight from that era. This Denzel Washington starrer is back in the Top 10 movies chart on Netflix globally this week.

The story starts with Joe Deacon, played by Washington, who looks like a man who has not slept properly since 1995. He gets dragged into a murder investigation even though he left all of this behind for reasons nobody wants to say out loud. And from the second he shows up, you can tell this case is way too close to whatever broke him the first time.

Then there is Jim Baxter (Rami Malek) walking around like the human version of a locked filing cabinet. He wants all the rules to be followed and all the evidence to be collected, and he is a neat freak, so he also wants everything tidy and properly labelled. And smack in the middle of them is Jared Leto, who has the capability of looking guilty even when he is literally standing still doing nothing.

Now, the film has something very specific going for it, and that’s its atmosphere. Yes, it moves at a slower pace, but that makes sense once the story progresses. Denzel plays Deacon with a brilliant tension that makes you feel like he is two seconds away from either snapping or confessing or both. Malek looks like the stress of trying to do things correctly is physically ageing him. Their performances carry the entire film, no question.

But here is the part that gets people going: the ending. The movie spends two hours dropping hints and making you think a reveal is coming. And then it turns around and flips you like a prankster. And depending on your mood, that either feels bold or feels like the movie led you into a maze and forgot to give you the exit.

If we talk about the direction of John Lee Hancock (known for The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks, The Founder and The Highwaymen), he has made it have that older detective-film vibe. Sometimes it works really well. Sometimes you want the film to pick up the pace a little because it holds on certain shots longer than it needs to. You can tell the director was committed to a mood, even if the story wobbles here and there.

But again, the cast saves this movie. Denzel Washington brings so much weight to Deacon that half the narrative works simply because he exists on-screen. Malek’s tightly wound detective energy is yet another basic requirement of the movie. And Leto… whether you like his acting style or not, delivers exactly what this character needed. He has perfectly looked the person who makes you uncomfortable without raising his voice.

So yes, the film is flawed. Yes, the ending will annoy people forever. But it also gets under your skin in a way that cleaner thrillers do not. And that’s why it’s trending again, because it leaves you with questions you want to discuss immediately.