Wicked Little Letters Review

Theatrical Movie Review - Comedy

Wicked Little Letters poster. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

You've probably heard the phrase, “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” It’s often used to encourage women to use their voices to be seen and taken more seriously. Thea Sherrock reveals a different story in her film “Wicked Little Letters.”

When Edith Swan (Olivia Colma) begins receiving obscene letters, she knows exactly who is sending them: her vulgar neighbor, Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). As these wicked notes, referred to as the Littlehampton Letters, are more widely disseminated, Woman Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) and some other local women go on the search for the culprit. Each of the women must play against the expectations that are placed on them by their families, society, and one another. 

Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley in Wicked Little Letters. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

This was such a fun movie; I can see it quickly becoming a favorite comfort comedy for many. The characters are interesting and well-developed, the humor is droll in all of the best ways, and it is feminist in a way that doesn’t knock the viewer over the head with its commentary. I was thoroughly entertained and it sounded like the audience was as well.

I loved Colman and Buckley in “The Lost Daughter,” so I was excited to see them have a chance to play off one another this time. And I was not disappointed at all. They are both thoroughly delightful as Edith and Rose. Buckley has an uncanny ability to turn on a dime, bringing a profanity-laced tirade one moment and a touching, heartfelt ode to her daughter in the next. Colman is a spectacular performer with one of the most expressive faces in film today. The surprise for me was how much I enjoyed Timothy Spall as Edith’s father, Edward. He brings a humor and malice that is perfectly balanced.

Olivia Colman in Wicked Little Letters. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

The script from Jonny Sweet is sharp and thoughtful. It balances a lot of nuance between the humor and the pathos better than a lot of similar films. There was no point when I felt emotional whiplash, even though the story definitely takes you through a variety of experiences. And even though the whodunnit element of the film resolves at about the mid-way point, I didn’t feel like the story suffered from that reveal. It still managed to maintain enough intrigue to keep me engaged. 

This film is funny and charming and chock full of four-letter words, strung together in ways you might not expect. The phrase I referenced at the top of this review about well-behaved women has been used out of context so much that it's easy to forget Laurel Thatcher Ulrich used it to remind historians to look for the history of women all around, not just from the bad girls or those who are exceptional. In “Wicked Little Letters,” we can see that the somewhat ordinary story of Edith Swan and Rose Gooding still merits a place in the history books. Even if it needs a little bit of censoring for delicate ears.

@alisechaffinsMovie review for Wicked Little Letters. #moviereview #filmtok #comedy #wickedlittleletters #oliviacoleman #jessiebuckley

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This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on April 7, 2024.