Wicked Little Letters

Thea Sharrock’s Wicked Little Letters tells a story untold before now. A true scandal that rocked a community in 1920s England, it centres on friends turned foes Edith Swan (Olivia Coleman) and Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) in the seaside town of Littlehampton. Following a recent argument between the two neighbours, a series of obscenely worded letters begin to fall through Edith’s letterbox and suspicion falls upon loose-lipped Rose. With the full force of the law coming down on her and the flurry of crude letters continuing to escalate, Rose risks losing both her freedom and her family. Her sole hope lies with Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), the only police officer determined to find the real culprit and serve justice to Rose and the residents of Littlehampton.

At its core, Wicked Little Letters is a lesson in cursing explored through very different family dynamics. On the one hand, you have the Swans, a traditional family with religious values. On the other, you have the Goodings, frivolous and direct in every single aspect. The contrast between the two serves as one of the long-lasting themes of the film as Sharrock creates an analysis of the place, freedom and strength of women in a post-war society. Coleman and Buckley have a ball in their respective roles, relishing in the opportunity to have a laugh with their characters and make the screenplay come to life in its tongue-in-cheek and playful tonality.

The script is crudely entertaining, flitting between being laugh-a-minute and witty to immensely serious. However, the rudeness gets a little tiring the more our ears are subjected to it. The black comedy isn’t quite as outrageous as you may believe from the trailer, and the entire appeal of the movie comes through Coleman, Buckley and Vasan. Once the plot is established to be as simple as it is, the trio must heave with every muscle to keep the adventure buoyant.

The main faux pas of the movie comes in its structure. The film presents itself as a mystery as the audience sets about guessing who the scribe behind the letters might be, but the question is answered for us halfway through. The twist/grand reveal comes far too early and as viewers we must watch how the characters piece together the jigsaw we have already completed. Relationship building and backstory development between the two main characters are sacrificed and exchanged for brief interchanges of dialogue.

Should the arrangement of these key moments have been reshuffled, Wicked Little Letters may have proven more than simply an entertaining ride. In the end, it is all too predictable, but we can at least enjoy the performances and the frolicsome dramatics all the same.

Guy Lambert

Wicked Little Letters is released nationwide on 23^rd February 2024.

Watch the trailer for Wicked Little Letters here: