The Little Things | 2021 | R | – 6.7.5

Why is “The Little Things” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violent/disturbing images, language and full nudity.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes several scenes of fully nude dead bodies in crime scenes, crime scene photos, scenes at a morgue, a few deaths by gunshot and blunt force trauma with bloody wounds shown, many conversations about the murder of 6 women by stabbing, a suicide by gunshot, a few arguments and nearly 10 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A former detective (Denzel Washington), whose promising career was derailed when he became fixated with catching a serial killer, teams up with a younger, up-and-coming detective (Rami Malek) to continue the pursuit. The two become obsessed, and stepping outside police procedures leads to unpredictable consequences. Also with Jared Leto, Chris Bauer, Michael Hyatt, Terry Kinney, Sofia Vassilieva and Frederick Koehler. Directed by John Lee Hancock. [Running Time: 2:07]

The Little Things SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A fully nude female body is discovered and her bare breasts, abdomen and legs are shown up close and we later see her fully nude body (bare breasts, abdomen, pubic hair and legs) from a distance and her upper body again (bare breasts and abdomen) in a morgue. Two fully nude dead women are shown lying against a boulder in a few scenes (we see bare breasts, abdomens, partial buttocks and legs). Scantily clad women walk on sidewalks in a few scenes seeming to be soliciting (cleavage, bare abdomens and bare legs to the upper thighs are shown). A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage. A neon sign for a “Gentlemen’s Club” is in the outline of women. A man wears a T-shirt and boxers in his hotel room (we see his bare legs to the upper thighs). A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals bare shoulders and cleavage (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).
► A husband and his wife kiss.
► Two men scuffle briefly in a police interrogation room when one touches the other’s genitals and determines that he is aroused by crime scene photos of fully nude dead women. The condition of dead bodies is discussed and a reference is made to “no rape, no sodomy.” A police detective tells a suspect, “Spread your legs,” while searching him and the man replies, “I thought you’d never ask.”

The Little Things VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – Police investigate a crime scene and we see a lot of blood soaked into a carpet, smeared on the floor, sprayed on the wall and on the victim; the body has a deep cut on her throat and a lot of blood on her body, her hands are bound and a bag is on her head (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details). Two fully nude dead women are shown lying against a boulder in a few scenes and we see blood splatter around them and on bags on their heads.
► A woman wearing a skimpy top (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details) is shot in the chest and we see blood pour from the wound as she collapses. A man digging a hole in the ground swings around and hits another man in the head with a shovel; the man falls dead and we see blood on his head and face. A car on a road speeds closely behind a young woman driving alone, pulls beside her and speeds away, stops in the distance and the young woman speeds around the car, pulls into a service station, hides and runs into the road in front of a truck to get away from the man menacing her. A car driving without lights on follows a woman as she jogs alone at night; we later see the woman on a missing person’s poster. A man imagines dead women standing in his room at night as he looks at photos and crime scene photos of them and cries. Two men scuffle briefly in a police interrogation room when one touches the other’s genitals and determines that he is aroused by crime scene photos. A man climbs on the roof of an apartment building to get away from being found in another man’s apartment. A man punches a car window in frustration (we do not see an injury). A man sneaks up on a police detective and says, “Boo,” startling him and the detective draws his weapon, yells, and forces the man against a gate. A man gets into a car with another man that drives him to a remote place where he is told to dig holes in the ground to find a dead body. A medical examiner removes a bullet from a corpse’s chest (we see the bloody wound and the bullet).
► We hear the call “Officer down” over police radio as armed police search through an apartment. A sheriff’s deputy examines broken glass at a crime scene and says there’s blood on it, and a man says, “I hope they bleed to death.” A man tells a deputy that a witness has “the guilts” about identifying an individual in a crime. A sheriff’s deputy looks into an envelope of evidence in a police station and we see what could be blood on a piece of cloth. We hear that there are 4 dead girls and no suspects, and later that there are 6 dead bodies and no suspects. We hear that a man is a registered sex offender. We hear that a man killed himself with a gun. A police captain says that a man was let go from the department after he had a complete meltdown and a heart attack. The condition of dead bodies is discussed and a reference is made to “no rape, no sodomy.” A man says, “I’m dying here” when on a stakeout. A man threatens another man’s wife and children. A medical examiner indicates that the cause of a woman’s death was “multiple stab wounds.”
► A police detective unzips a body bag at a crime scene and we see a woman’s discolored face with cuts on her cheek and one eye open (the body had apparently been in water for a period of time). A police detective and a medical examiner talk about finding a bite on a dead woman’s body and that the killer shaved her legs postmortem (we see a cut from the razor on her leg). A police detective offers menthol to people entering a crime scene where there is a dead body. The “g” in a sign that was intended to read “Angus” is broken out of a restaurant marquee by vandals. A man asks another man why he didn’t get a promotion at his job and he says, “Maybe I didn’t go to the right church.” A man says, “I’m a crime buff.” We see the book “Helter Skelter” in a man’s apartment.
► A man spits out chewing gum (we see it leave his mouth). A man says that partially digested meat was found in a woman’s stomach and that she was a vegan and would never have eaten meat. A man digs through a bag of a man’s garbage and pulls out a piece of partially eaten pizza to find the bite size.

The Little Things LANGUAGE 5

 – About 8 F-words, 2 sexual references, 12 scatological terms, 9 anatomical terms, 16 mild obscenities, name-calling (ugly, Nancies, no soul, bastard, weirdo, dead in the water, Columbo, Kojak, insignificant, crazy, little boy, butt buddy, Mr. Fancy Pants, dramatic, sick, shark, stranger, strippers, hookers, sucker, sappy), exclamations (jeez, you gotta be kidding me, whoa, boo, hey, oh), 8 religious exclamations (e.g. Holy Roller, Good Lord, Jesus, God, Godsend, My God, For God’s Sake, a man asks another man if he believes in God, a large cross on a hilltop is seen several times). | profanity glossary |

The Little Things SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink and smoke in a bar scene.

The Little Things DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Serial murder, mental illness, estranged families, office politics, the 5th amendment, truth, obsession.

The Little Things MESSAGE

 – It is the little things that will get you caught.