The Little Things Theory Deacon Is The Real Killer

The Little Things Theory: Deacon Is The Real Killer

In The Little Things, Joe Deacon’s willingness to bend or break the rules has led to some speculation about him being the mystery movie’s real killer.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

The ending of The Little Things is ambiguous about Sparma’s guilt, leading some viewers to theorize that the real killer is actually the corrupt police officer, Deacon. By the end of The Little Things, Joe Deacon (Denzel Washington) and Jim Baxter (Remi Malek) have no answers to the murder mystery with which they are obsessed on a borderline unhealthy level, leading to events that culminate in a rather sinister manner. Instead of solving his case, Baxter ends up murdering the prime suspect Albert Sparma (played by Jared Leto in The Little Things). Instead of turning Baxter in, Deacon is there conveniently to help him cover it up, just as Deacon’s colleagues helped him cover up an accidental murder of his own years ago. By the time the movie is over, it is clear that Deacon is willing to bend and even break the rules to save his own skin and that of his friends. This willingness to walk on the dark side has led to some speculation that Deacon is the real killer that Baxter was in search of all along.

As a member of law enforcement, Deacon undoubtedly shares personality traits with his suspects, as the skills to be a successful homicide detective are acutely similar to those needed to be a serial killer. This similarity between the pursuer and the pursued in murder mysteries is a common highlight of the most famous detective stories, from Thomas Harris’ Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter to DC Comics’ Batman and the Joker. As the saying goes, “it takes a thief to catch a thief.” Deacon may be the real killer in the unsolved cases in The Little Things, but his connection to the murders are more likely due to his being a highly skilled, albeit washed-up, detective. As such, for every clue that Deacon is the real killer, there is a plausible reason as to why he may not be.

The truth is that there is simply not enough evidence to reveal the identity of the real killer in The Little Things, which is what makes this mystery movie so frustrating, not only for the detectives but also for the audience. Likewise, the question of Deacon’s guilt is central to the movie’s story, again not only for the detective himself but also for the audience. Deacon states several times in the movie that “it’s the little things that get you caught,” first referring to their suspect, and later referring to Baxter when they are covering up Sparma’s murder. It’s telling that Deacon states “it’s the little things that get you caught” instead of “them caught.” This minor difference in word choice is just one of the little things that point to Deacon being the real killer in The Little Things.

Ronda Rathbun Disappeared During Deacon’s First Night In Town

It’s extremely suspicious that Ronda Rathbun disappears on Deacon’s first night in town. While this may be a coincidence, it is the first thing that any detective would look for in a suspect: opportunity. If there was any evidence for Deacon being the real killer in The Little Things, he would have no alibi that clears him of suspicion. While the audience is offered a glimpse into several scenes that follow Deacon’s whereabouts during the night, a continuous timeline of his actions are not offered, allowing him a window of opportunity to follow Rathbun and eventually dispose of her. However, opportunity alone is not enough to saddle him with Ronda’s disappearance. Additionally, since her body is never found or heard from again in the movie, she may not be dead or even be kidnapped.

Deacon Knew Exactly What Ronda’s Red Barrette Looked Like

At the end of the movie, Deacon buys a red barrette and sends it to Baxter to relieve the latter’s guilt. Some may argue that this seems to imply that Deacon has some insider knowledge about the barrette that only the killer would have. Baxter did tell Deacon about the red barrette, but that doesn’t explain how he knew what it looked like. However, the only time the audience sees the real red barrette is the night that Ronda was running with her friend, and unfortunately, it’s unclear whether or not the red barrette that Deacon sent Baxter was exactly the same. Additionally, if Deacon was the real killer, he could’ve sent the real one — unless, of course, he wanted to save it as a trophy.

His Car Fits The Mileage And Trunk Space Profile

In addition to having the opportunity to have kidnapped and even to have killed Ronda, Deacon also drives a truck that fits the profile of what the detectives decided the killer would need to commit such a murder. His truck has the trunk space and the mileage (presumably because it’s an old, worn-out model) that the investigators are looking for. However, the car that follows Ronda is clearly not a truck, but a four-door sedan, and it is clearly shown in the movie.

Deacon Is Just As Grossly Obsessed With Murder As Sparma

Deacon is seen behaving in many bizarre ways since getting involved with Baxter’s investigation. He has strange visions of the victims in the unsolved case from his years as a detective; he keeps the files and photographs from that case on the wall of his hotel room; and, he talks to Mary Roberts’ corpse. All this behavior seems to be a part of his involvement in Baxter’s case, which he believes to be connected to his unsolved case from years ago. At times, however, his detective work seems more like a gruesome obsession with murder and death. Despite the way this seems, his strange methods are quite common when it comes to the methods investigators employ when tracking down serial killers. Will Graham from Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon is a perfect example of this. Other investigators judge Graham as borderline insane because of these strange methods.

Why Deacon’s Boots Were So Suspicious

Speaking of strange methods, Deacon is seen multiple times wearing the boots of a suspect in a murder case back in Kern County. He is originally sent to Los Angeles specifically to get these boots, which is how he gets pulled into Baxter’s case. It turns out later that the boots were no longer needed in the Kern County case, so he ultimately went to L.A. for nothing. While Deacon wearing the boots seems like something only an unhinged killer might do, he was more likely trying to empathize with the real killer by literally walking in the shoes of another killer. Empathizing with serial killers is a controversial, yet common, technique used by investigators in murder cases, and although Deacon’s wearing the boots is certainly bizarre, it’s hardly evidence he’s the real killer in The Little Things.

Deacon Is A Killer, But Was It On Purpose?

Ultimately, Deacon is a killer, having accidentally killed a girl who was a victim in his unsolved case from years ago. Instead of confessing to the accidental shooting, he gets his then partner and a medical examiner to cover up the killing, which is more of a crime than the accidental shooting. This cover-up and Deacon’s strange behavior in the movie might point to the fact that the accidental killing was no accident. It’s possible that he was the real killer in that unsolved case from years ago and that he shot the girl on purpose, although the exact motivations behind the same remain murky and hidden.

It is entirely possible that Deacon might have thought she was dead from the stab wounds, like the other girls, and when she appeared in the woods, he shot her to finish the job, not because he was startled. Regardless of his strange behavior and his real crimes in the movie, if Deacon is the real killer in The Little Things, there is simply not enough evidence to pin the murder on him or anyone else. If there was, Baxter, the star detective, would surely have figured it out, leading to the complete avoidance of Sparma’s death towards the end. Either that, or he simply wasn’t as good a detective as everyone thought, and he will one day become as washed-up and ineffective as Deacon.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/little-things-deacon-denzel-washington-real-killer-boots/

• Stranger Things Season 3 Breaks Its Own Rules & References The 1990s

• The Annabelle Series 10 Creepy Facts About The Conjuring SpinOff

• SpiderMans Giant Japanese Robot Returns in SPIDERVERSE

• Studio Buds Vs Powerbeats Pro Beats Earbuds Compared

• SpiderMan Into the SpiderVerse 2 Started Production Today

• The Matrix 4 Trailer Song Explains Resurrections Main Story

• The 13 Weirdest Slasher Movies of the 80s