Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley delight in a @#$%&! war of words
"Wicked Little Letters" is wicked fun
Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley have been here before. Appearing together in 2021’s “The Lost Daughter,” for which each received an Academy Award acting nomination, these women complement each other well. A super relatable dynamic duo with thespian chemistry, they are the real deal.
Reunited for Thea Sharrock’s “Wicked Little Letters,” they have one helluva good time cussing each other out. Colman’s virtuous Edith Swan and Buckley’s unfiltered Rose Gooding play neighbors in a post-World War I English seaside hamlet.
And yet audiences will quickly discern key differences between them. For starters, Edith appears to do no wrong, while Rose rarely gets things right. The former is a spinster living with her parents, while the latter is an unmarried woman with an out-of-wedlock child.
There’s more: Edith reads the Bible a lot. Rose drinks and smokes. Edith obeys her father. Rose enjoys sex. You get the picture, right?
If you strongly dislike profanity, “Wicked Little Letters” is not for you. But if you believe cursing relieves stress and is healthy, f*ck yeah, you’ll adore this movie.
To wit, Rose’s foul-mouthed fulminations carry the lilt of Irish swearing. She shouts in people’s faces, spouting anger in a brilliant brogue. After all, everyone suspects she’s behind all the off the charts offensive correspondence to Edith.
Of course, Edith is not alone. Many other people start receiving bonkers letters from an anonymous sender, too. Rose denies having anything to do with the whole scheme. But then child protective services get involved, followed by the police. Understandably, Rose unloads her rage while posing for her mug shot.
The plot thickens when Edith’s mother intercepts and opens a hateful letter addressed to her daughter. Because this is a spoiler-free space, I cannot tell you what happens next, simply that words matter.
As the police go about solving this peculiar crime, a newcomer to the force questions the screwball patriarchy of her 1920s British workplace. Known as “Woman Police Officer Moss” and played like Sherlock Holmes by Anjana Vasan, this character does not think the evidence points to Rose.
However, because her theory conflicts with that of her superiors, Woman Police Officer Moss must work around them. Using informal channels, she enlists the help of the village’s womenfolk. They organize a sting operation in connection with the post office. Suffice it to say, invisible ink makes a stealth appearance.
With a new suspect now in custody, this period comedy moves to several boisterous courtroom scenes. Edith’s parents and Rose’s daughter are all deeply affected by the entire turn of events. And personally, I haven’t seen such high expressed emotion at trial since Marisa Tomei took the stand in “My Cousin Vinny.”
“Wicked Little Letters” is based on the bizarre true story Christopher Hilliard penned in “The Littlehampton Libels.” So far, I’ve only read Bee Wilson’s insightful analysis of this book, which includes archival photos of the main characters.
In the end, “Wicked Little Letters” will entertain and make you laugh out loud. It’s only when you step back to consider how completely crazy the world was then, you will see parallels to today.
Never mind the Great War had ended two years earlier, never mind the Great Influenza epidemic had just ended, and never mind the suffrage movement was in full swing a hundred years ago.
Either you believe in coincidences or you don’t. Colman and Buckley obviously embrace impish humor. They also know the healing power of a good laugh, which God knows we all need.
“Wicked Little Letters” is in cinemas. It is also streaming in the UK, so a US home viewing date won’t be far behind.