FILM REVIEW
Photos courtesy of Studiocanal, Film4 and People Person Pictures
Left: Olivia Colman as Edith Swan and Jessie Buckley as Rose Gooding in the 2023 film “Wicked Little Letters,” written by Jonny Sweet and directed by Thea Sharrock.
“Nasty little letters”
2023 – Age rating R
1 hour 40 minutes
4/5 stars
“Wicked Little Letters” is a wicked little film that will make you laugh out loud. It’s about a character assassination that took place in Littlehampton, a sleepy seaside town in the south of England.
The scandal was fairly tame by today’s standards, but back in the early 1920s, it rocked the nation. I found it amusing that today a nasty comment on social media can practically destroy someone, whereas a hundred years ago you had to use the postal service to accomplish the same thing. The methodology has changed, but the end result is the same.
The film feels like a BBC production, but contains so many swear words that I doubt the BBC had anything to do with the filming. It stars two of my favorite actresses, Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, who coincidentally appeared together in the recent film The Lost Daughter. In that film they play the same woman at different stages of her life, and here their interactions are the core of the film.
It was directed by Thea Sharrock. (I reviewed her great film The Beautiful Game earlier this year.)
Edith Swan (Colman) is a devout Catholic and a complacent spinster who lives with her elderly parents Edward (Timothy Spall) and Victoria (Gemma Jones). Here, Spall is wonderful as the tyrannical father who rules the household with an iron fist. He is also a religious fanatic who makes his daughter read the Bible several times a day. Colman’s nervous twitches and grimaces help perfectly define her character.
Things get out of hand when the women of the town start receiving obscene letters. And Edith becomes the target of a daily letter peppered with the worst verbal abuse. She immediately suspects her neighbor Rose Gooding (Buckley).
Rose is quite a character. She is a raunchy Irish immigrant who lives with her boyfriend and young daughter. She loves to spend her free time at the local pub, drinking, singing and causing trouble. Of course, she also swears like a sailor, which makes her the prime suspect in Edith’s eyes.
Edith contacts the local police and has Rose arrested, which turns out to be nothing more than a hunch. Since Rose cannot make the bail, she is sent to jail to await trial.
Meanwhile, the police station’s “policewoman,” Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), decides to do a little investigating on her own. Her colleagues are so sexist that they refuse to simply refer to her as a policewoman, but feel the need to add the word “woman” to her title.
They also believe that it is not her job to investigate the case herself, and when she does so, she is duly fired.
Without giving too much away, let’s just say that the real culprit for the obscene letters is revealed about halfway through the film.
From this point on, the film revolves around Officer Gladys’s investigative work. Two of Edith’s acquaintances, Kate (Lolly Adelope) and Ann (Joanna Scanlan), are not exactly her biggest fans and are happy to help Gladys with her investigation. One of their approaches is to analyze the handwriting in the letters – something her colleagues scoff at.
I found the whole film absolutely delightful. The acting is top notch, as you would expect from a cast that includes Colman, Buckley and Spall. All the supporting actors are perfectly cast too.
I especially loved the attention to detail shown in the 1920s-style costumes. One of the highlights of the film was watching Edith and her father read the naughty letters to each other. That alone is worth the price of admission.
If you’re looking for something a little different and truly British, don’t miss this charming little film.
Parental note: This film is rated R for strong language – it’s peppered with f-bombs and other foul language. Other than that, I think it’s appropriate for older teens.
Currently available to stream on Netflix. And to rent on other services including Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
About this column:
My main focus is on
Films that in my opinion
disappeared under the radar and
deserve more recognition.
They include the most importantStream and stream indie movies on services like Netflix, Hoopla and Kanopy.
In addition, I will also review notable new movies.
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