I saw this at the cinema, but it was so good it really needs to be watched a few times. The cinema was packed with a lot of older people. I was pleased to say they all found it funny and not one walked out because of the language. Then again I assume you know what your watching before it starts. Really excellent film based on a true story.
The elderly folks who were viewing it in their movie afternoon, found the language a bit too blue and they turned it off after 20 minutes into the feature.
I watched the whole film, very good performances by the cast despite the foul language. 🙂
In 1920s Little Hampton as the country continues to recover from The Great War, a scandal develops that would captivate a nation and even reach the Houses of Parliament. Quiet and reserved Edith Swann begins receiving letters full of profanity and the most unintentionally hilarious insults you have ever heard. The immediate suspect is rowdy Irish immigrant Rose Gooding who is charged with the crime and awaits trial. However, as the number of letters received by Edith and others begins to increase and become more widespread, Police Officer Gladys Moss suspects Rose may not be the true culprit and conducts her own investigation behind the backs of her male superiors who have all but dismissed her skills as a police officer.
You might have your suspicions regarding who the true culprit of the story is early on but this by no way diminishes the entertainment value of Wicked Little Letters. It is the content of the letters themselves that provide most of the laughs as well as Olivia Colman’s reaction to them. There is magic and sparks on screen every time Coleman and Jesse Buckley let sparks fly while Anjana Vasan as Gladys Moss provides a great contrast who plays it straight during the chaos around her, and I felt could have been dropped straight into a Wes Anderson movie following this one, there was something about her that reminded me of one of his characters.
Overall a very entertaining and funny film about a scandal I was previously unaware of that also has lots to say about the oppression of women.
Jessie Buckley, what a star and wonderful in all aspects. Timothy Spall plays the pious father,
Olivia coleman the downtrodden daughter, a typical frustrated woman who has enough of the repetitive Bible preaching, it is funny from the start to finish, I definitely recommend buying this item it is eye opening and well worth purchasing. I hope Jessie Buckley wins an Oscar for her portrayal
In the English town of Littlehampton in 1920, a series of poison pen letters full of obscene profanity is sent round the town. An Irish immigrant woman is instantly accused but she protests her innocence. Based on a true story this is a hilarious and moving comedy drama with excellent performances from Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Timothy Spall and newcomer Anjana Vasan as a policewoman who tries to solve the mystery of who is really sending the letters. The swearing might shock some but is also hilarious.
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this film as much as I did, given the genre and time period it focused on; but it was very watchable and brilliantly paced and cast. Made it applicable to life in this generation as well with social media trolls springing to mind.
As my headline says hilarious and tragic in equal measure. Showing how previously held judgements and repression can affect family life and mental health. It had a depth which was lightened by the comedic element but allowed it to make you analyse the content with sympathy and interest. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley were brilliant. All the more intriguing as it told a true story.
Wicked Little Letters
Released in Cinemas: 23/02/2024
Run time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Rating: 15
Official Movie Blurb
A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a dark and absurd scandal in this riotous mystery comedy. Based on a stranger than fiction true story, WICKED LITTLE LETTERS follows two neighbours: deeply conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, foul-mouthed Rose is charged with the crime. The anonymous letters prompt a national uproar, and a trial ensues. However, as the town’s women – led by Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) – begin to investigate the crime themselves, they suspect that something is amiss, and Rose may not be the culprit after all.
The Pre-Amble Nonsense
Director Thea Sharrock (Me Before You) with this British black comedy based on the true story where a series of obscene letters were sent to residents of a street in Littlehampton. The storyline reminded me of an Agatha Christie story, 1942’s “The Moving Finger”, which had Miss Marple investigate something very similar. There is no murder in this film though, only some wildly inventive swearing.
The cast includes Olivia Colman (The Favourite; TV’s Broadchurch), Jessie Buckley (Men; TV’s Chernobyl), Anjana Vasan (TV’s We Are Lady Parts), Joanna Scanlan (TV’s The Thick of It), Gemma Jones (the Harry Potter film series), Eileen Atkins (2010’s Robin Hood) and Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner; TV’s Auf Wiedersehen, Pet).
The Non-Spoiler Review
With a cast this good, Wicked Little Letters was always going to be a decent watch and it is, but it didn’t quite land with me. I’ve read some reviews which state that this was a laugh out loud experience for them, but I can’t remember ever going that far. To be fair I did smile a fair bit and chuckle to myself a few times.
There is, as you may suspect, quite a bit of swearing in this, so if a bit of rude language is not your cup of tea, you may wish to give this a miss.
The cast is excellent – Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley in particular are fantastic as the devout Christian spinster and foul-mouthed mother respectively – the direction is solid, and the music score is nice.
The Verdict
It didn’t quite work for me, but it is enjoyable.
Olivia Coleman, Jessie Buckley and Anjana Vasan are brilliant in their respective rolls and Timothy Spall is dastardley despicable as the over bearing over controlling father.
The directing and photography are more than adequate and capture the flavour of the time period and the humour is very funny. Based on a true event, it maybe this sticking to the facts that just stop it becomig a Carry On style farce, but all the characters are larger than life but credible.
The only thing that stopped me giving it a full five stars; is it felt a little restrained. Ho the language and the humour don’t hold back, no restraint there. But the story as a whole felt a little hollow, like there was more to the story but the director didn’t want to cloud it with too much back story. I wanted to know more about Olivia Colemans Charactor than what we got.
As a movie it would have worked just as well as a TV drama and didn’t take full advantage of the cinema screen. But a very amusing and enjoyable movie.
![Wicked Little Letters [Blu-ray]](https://k4s.uk/posts/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/81FgY-60TJL.jpg)
I saw this at the cinema, but it was so good it really needs to be watched a few times. The cinema was packed with a lot of older people. I was pleased to say they all found it funny and not one walked out because of the language. Then again I assume you know what your watching before it starts. Really excellent film based on a true story.
The elderly folks who were viewing it in their movie afternoon, found the language a bit too blue and they turned it off after 20 minutes into the feature.
I watched the whole film, very good performances by the cast despite the foul language. 🙂
You might have your suspicions regarding who the true culprit of the story is early on but this by no way diminishes the entertainment value of Wicked Little Letters. It is the content of the letters themselves that provide most of the laughs as well as Olivia Colman’s reaction to them. There is magic and sparks on screen every time Coleman and Jesse Buckley let sparks fly while Anjana Vasan as Gladys Moss provides a great contrast who plays it straight during the chaos around her, and I felt could have been dropped straight into a Wes Anderson movie following this one, there was something about her that reminded me of one of his characters.
Overall a very entertaining and funny film about a scandal I was previously unaware of that also has lots to say about the oppression of women.
Jessie Buckley, what a star and wonderful in all aspects. Timothy Spall plays the pious father,
Olivia coleman the downtrodden daughter, a typical frustrated woman who has enough of the repetitive Bible preaching, it is funny from the start to finish, I definitely recommend buying this item it is eye opening and well worth purchasing. I hope Jessie Buckley wins an Oscar for her portrayal
As my headline says hilarious and tragic in equal measure. Showing how previously held judgements and repression can affect family life and mental health. It had a depth which was lightened by the comedic element but allowed it to make you analyse the content with sympathy and interest. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley were brilliant. All the more intriguing as it told a true story.
Released in Cinemas: 23/02/2024
Run time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Rating: 15
Official Movie Blurb
A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a dark and absurd scandal in this riotous mystery comedy. Based on a stranger than fiction true story, WICKED LITTLE LETTERS follows two neighbours: deeply conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, foul-mouthed Rose is charged with the crime. The anonymous letters prompt a national uproar, and a trial ensues. However, as the town’s women – led by Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) – begin to investigate the crime themselves, they suspect that something is amiss, and Rose may not be the culprit after all.
The Pre-Amble Nonsense
Director Thea Sharrock (Me Before You) with this British black comedy based on the true story where a series of obscene letters were sent to residents of a street in Littlehampton. The storyline reminded me of an Agatha Christie story, 1942’s “The Moving Finger”, which had Miss Marple investigate something very similar. There is no murder in this film though, only some wildly inventive swearing.
The cast includes Olivia Colman (The Favourite; TV’s Broadchurch), Jessie Buckley (Men; TV’s Chernobyl), Anjana Vasan (TV’s We Are Lady Parts), Joanna Scanlan (TV’s The Thick of It), Gemma Jones (the Harry Potter film series), Eileen Atkins (2010’s Robin Hood) and Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner; TV’s Auf Wiedersehen, Pet).
The Non-Spoiler Review
With a cast this good, Wicked Little Letters was always going to be a decent watch and it is, but it didn’t quite land with me. I’ve read some reviews which state that this was a laugh out loud experience for them, but I can’t remember ever going that far. To be fair I did smile a fair bit and chuckle to myself a few times.
There is, as you may suspect, quite a bit of swearing in this, so if a bit of rude language is not your cup of tea, you may wish to give this a miss.
The cast is excellent – Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley in particular are fantastic as the devout Christian spinster and foul-mouthed mother respectively – the direction is solid, and the music score is nice.
The Verdict
It didn’t quite work for me, but it is enjoyable.
The directing and photography are more than adequate and capture the flavour of the time period and the humour is very funny. Based on a true event, it maybe this sticking to the facts that just stop it becomig a Carry On style farce, but all the characters are larger than life but credible.
The only thing that stopped me giving it a full five stars; is it felt a little restrained. Ho the language and the humour don’t hold back, no restraint there. But the story as a whole felt a little hollow, like there was more to the story but the director didn’t want to cloud it with too much back story. I wanted to know more about Olivia Colemans Charactor than what we got.
As a movie it would have worked just as well as a TV drama and didn’t take full advantage of the cinema screen. But a very amusing and enjoyable movie.