Written by: Jonny Sweet
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones
Rating: [4/5]
As we all know, foul language has no place in high society. It’s unbecoming and could cause one big trouble if engaging in it as we see in Wicked Little Letters where the source of some mean-spirited correspondence becomes the talk of the town. As the search begins we get treated to a delightfully entertaining film that completely buys into its silly narrative and a cast playing right along to help amplify its greatness.
In 1920s Littlehampton, England poor Edith Swan, a devout Christian, has become the target of hate mail calling her the most vulgar things. After receiving a number of them she and her family go to the local authorities to investigate and put an end to this wicked treachery. As Edith divulges more information of what she knows, her neighbor, Irish immigrant, Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) becomes suspect number one.
Hilariously based on a true story, Wicked Little Letters displays what happens when a public act of written bullying can capture the attention of an entire town. Saying mean things about another person like anywhere else was not uncommon but to have it in print and delivered anonymously means something else altogether. It displays a different level of malice, especially when considering the foul language used that nowadays would not feel too out of order but definitely left an impact in Littlehampton.
As this investigation continues we get to see how it impacts the two individuals in question, the victim Edith, and the suspect Rose and the vast differences they have from one another. Edith lives with her parents, still at this stage in life where she completely takes care of them while her younger siblings moved out and on with their lives. Quite sheltered and a devout Christian as raised by her parents. Rose, on the other hand, sits on the opposite side of everything mentioned with Edith. She lives with her child and fraternizes with a man who’s not the father of said child. Rose states her husband died in the war therefore making her circumstance somewhat understandable but that surely does not stop Edith and her family from judging the lifestyle the single mother has elected for herself.
With their stark differences and how a potential friendship between them was soured, the proximity of Rose to the Swan household and the way she generally runs around with the mouth of a sailor makes the Irish woman the logical choice. Therefore, we have the entrance of WPC Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) and how she plays into all of this. For anyone wondering what WPC stands for, I can certainly enlighten you by explaining it stands for woman police constable. While an actual title given to women police officers for some time in England, it felt like nothing more than a way to demean Moss in this feature. Her presence made for some of the best comedy this film had to offer. She sets out to find out the real culprit sending out those letters and the twists and turns it takes and her shock in all of it serves as such a highlight especially in the way Rose proves difficult to work with.
The two stars of the show, Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman were just as excellent as you would expect from these two. Buckley as a foul-mouthed wrecking ball brought such a life to this film where she ensured everyone who felt the least bit proper had an undressing on her end. However, it comes as no surprise that Olivia Colman proved as best-in-show as Edith. Portraying a repressed and emotionally stilted woman who lives to take care of her parents and read the bible has much more to her than meets the eye. Playing victim in one instance and completely flipping the script in another. She really went all-in on the hilarity of this film demonstrates what makes her one of the most versatile actors in the game right now.
A pure delight from beginning to end, Wicked Little Letters utilizes its true-story inspiration to take us down this tale of mystery, deceit, and the foulest language anyone has written in that part of the world at the time. Having this puritanical community absolutely torn asunder by this scandal in itself has comedy for days but the way it all plays out delivered such a flat-out entertaining experience. Focused solely on these women we go on quite the ride that takes some interesting turns in revealing the true culprit and as a result delivers such a satisfying conclusion with all the expletives one could possibly want.
Films with Josh 
