Wicked Little Letters

This British comedy is, rather like the content of the letters on which the plot is based, somewhat crude and unsubtle. The characters are largely stereotypes - the prim, god-fearing Edith, the foul-mouthed slatternly Irishwoman Rose, the misogynistic buffoons (pretty much all the male characters). Timothy Spall plays a nasty bully, and this, along with the early friendship between Edith and Rose, which breaks down, mainly due to his influence, suggests there is a potential for a stronger story here - if the film had been brave enough to escape the rather one-joke plotline approach. The use of black and Asian actors to portray characters in roles where this would not have been historically accurate has now become almost obligatory, but is still a bit of an irritating anachronism. Overall, the film does have its moments, but does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity.

I imagine this film was a lot of fun to write, the letters in particular. I also imagine it was a lot of fun to act in. The film is so distinctly British. The Americans could never make a film like this. That's no knock on the Americans, it's just simply something that wouldn't work or be charming in their culture.

Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are both fantastic here. Buckley brings the energy to the movie and Colman brings the subtle hilarity, "...on a Wednesday." Her facial acting throughout the movie is mesmerising. She's fascinating to watch and her reactions are both natural, and hilarious at the same time. This was a good one. 7/10.

Greetings again from the darkness. "This is more true than you'd think." Director Thea Sharrock (ME BEFORE YOU, 2016) kicks off the film with this statement. The movie then proceeds to twist and stretch and outright change many of the details from the actual story and case outlined in the 2017 book, "The Littlehampton Libels: A Miscarriage of Justice and a Mystery about Words in 1920's England" by Christopher Hilliard. However, from an entertainment perspective, the script from Jonny Sweet combined with the stellar British cast works pretty well as a glimpse of that era's patriarchal society, as well as the need for attention from someone who has been stifled for far too long. And it even includes a few laughs along the way.

As Edith Swan (Oscar winner Olivia Colman) and her elder parents Edward (Timothy Spall) and Victoria (Gemma Jones) gather around the table to read the anonymous profanity-laced letter, we learn it's the 19th one received by Edith. The decision is made to contact Constable Papperwick (Hugh Skinner, FALLING FOR FIGARO), who is quick to accept as fact their presumption that the letters' source is neighbor Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). See, the Swan's are a God-fearing family (and quick to advertise the fact), while Rose is an Irish immigrant and single mom with a loud mouth ... one often filled with colorful curse words. It's little wonder holier-than-thou Edith's accusations are believed while denials from rough-around-the-edges Rose are dismissed.

"Female" Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan, CYRANO, 2021) is the only one who notices the massive inconsistencies in the "evidence", and sets out to investigate. This, of course, goes against the wishes of the police captain, and overall dismissal from fellow officers since she is such an oddity as a female officer. Moss is following in her father's footsteps with the badge, and has more instinct and powers of observation than the others ... especially Papperwick, who is clueless and arrogant.

As Edith finds pleasure in the notoriety, Moss enlists help from a couple of community ladies who don't buy into the Swan's pious attitude. The film's best line is, "Congratulations on your tragedy." These women, played beautifully by Joanna Scanlan (AFTER LOVE, 2020) and Eileen Atkins ("Doc Martin") devise a strategy to catch the true culprit in the act. Of course, most if not all viewers will have solved the case long before the police or jury do, but that won't lessen the enjoyment of watching the drama play out, sometimes with a dash of humor.

The 1923 Poison Pen scandal of Littlehampton was a real thing, with court case and all. The film makes a point of the Patriarchal society in place at the time (the onset of the Suffragette movement), and it helps us gain an understanding of Edith and Officer Moss, as well as the quick-to-judge folks so easily accepting Rose's guilt. I probably enjoyed this a bit more than many since I'm a big fan of both Colman and Buckley, who also co-starred together in THE LOST DAUGHTER. Timothy Spall reminds us that few can chew scenery like he, and the other familiar English actors all do their part. Those creative and sometimes confusing epithets (more likely to result in chuckles than anger) were taken from the actual letters in the case, and Ms. Colman's cackle at the end is itself worthy of a ticket price.

The film opens in theaters on April 5, 2024.

'Wicked Little Letters' is hysterically funny and unique. It takes a somewhat humorous true story and adds some great social commentary.

The narrative and themes within this are incredibly strong. By exploring how female behaviour was strictly controlled in a patriarchal and religious setting, the film emphasises the absurdity and hypocrisy in how 1920s women were treated. Jessie Buckley, Olivia Coleman, and Anjana Vasan make for an excellent leading trio!

Although, the cinematography and editing needed to be more adventurous. It could have visually reflected the personality of each of the main trio, such as having Buckley's character scenes having more unconventional visuals. This is only a slight criticism though. Please check this one out if you are not adversed to swearing!

Okay, so it sounds as though Thea Sharrock's "Wicked Little Letters" took a lot of creative liberties, but you gotta love the overall story, with a town in 1920 England suddenly filled with obscene letters and blaming an abrasive Irish immigrant.

The movie at once both addresses distrust of the "other" (especially considering how the English viewed the Irish) and people's tendency to dumb down their language to sound "appropriate". One scene in particular seems to say "well that felt good". I wouldn't call it a masterpiece - especially when you read about the inaccuracies - but it's got some funny stuff. I suspect that deep down, a lot of Christians wish that they could spout all the profanities they want.

In addition to stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, it also has Anjana Vasan (from last year's season finale of "Black Mirror"), Timothy Spall (Wormtail in the Harry Potter movies) and Alisha Weir (the title character in the recent "Abigail").