Wicked Little Letters is an English Black comedy film that makes you smile and laugh at the same time. We were really surprised when we heard the highly colourful profane language in this humourous film from England.
Rather interestingly, the storyline of this film is inspired by the true historical police case that happened in England. Well, to quote the BBC History Magazine, “In the early 1920s, a small seaside Littlehampton town in Sussex was rocked by a scandal involving warring neighbours, miscarriages of justice, and a lot of swearing. Thus, this film condenses the first wave of letters sent in Littlehampton and the case against Rose Gooding, focusing on the period 1920–21.” But of course, the film has taken a few creative liberties with the real case.
Trailer: Wicked Little Letters (2024) Movie
Synopsis: Wicked Little Letters (2024) Movie
When people in Littlehampton–including conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) — begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town’s women investigate.
Expletives Filled ‘Wicked Little Letters’ Is Hilarious Comedy For Adults
Spoiler Free Review: Wicked Little Letters (2024) Movie
The storyline
In a 1920s English seaside town, a riotous mystery comedy unfolds, shedding light on a colourful scandal, when the English ladies were expected to behave in appropriate and decent ways. The film is based on a true story and follows two neighbours: the conservative Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and the rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). As wicked letters filled with unintentionally hilarious profanities start arriving, Rose is accused of the crime. The anonymous letters cause a national uproar, leading to a trial. However, the town’s women, led by Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), take matters into their own hands and suspect that Rose may not be the real culprit.
The year 1915 marked the introduction of Britain's first female police constables, highlighting women's competence in roles historically dominated by men both during and after the First World War.
What did we like in the film?
In this film, the two lead actresses Olivia Colman (Edith Swan) and Jessie Buckley (Rose Gooding) look natural and realistic while playing the two naughty characters. We loved their acts in the film. To be honest, the film has been quite liberal in using colourful profanity in their language, while either writing letters or mouthing dialogues. And that is the unique selling point (USP) of this film. However, in today’s era, the use of such expletives seems ludicrous and they did manage to elicit quite a bit of laughter from the viewers.
Despite the fact that the events unfolded in Littlehampton, the filming did not occur in that location. Instead, the nearby areas of Arundel and Worthing were chosen. Arundel served as the backdrop for town and street scenes in the film, while Worthing was selected for all the seaside filming.
Another actress Anjana Vasan (Police Officer Gladys Moss) also performed well. She played her role perfectly, as a rare lady police officer dominated by gentlemen. We remember watching both Anjana Vasan and Malachi Kirby ((Bill)) in one of the episodes of the Black Mirror a British series. The entire ensemble cast has looked the part. Overall the social, political and cultural ambience of England’s 1920s period has been captured realistically. For us, it is hard to imagine that the English women folks (the ladies) did not enjoy the kind of freedom that they enjoy nowadays. Certainly, the ladies of the world have come a long way, but does equality exist at present?
What did we not like in the film?
There are a bunch of historical inaccuracies in this film. As we mentioned earlier, this film has taken a few creative liberties, and we do not like this aspect. So, allow us to highlight the said discrepancies.
According to the historical records and news-reports, back in 1919, Gladys Moss shattered barriers by becoming the first woman to be appointed as a police officer in the West Sussex Constabulary. It seems that in real life, Gladys Moss was not of Indian origin. But in the film, her role has been portrayed by actress Anjana Vasan.
And then we came across the Judge in the film, the said powerful position is held by a person of African origin. A century ago, it is really hard to imagine that happening in the heart of the British Colonial empire.
Besides in the movie, the Judge handling the case is of black ethnicity. But the historical fact is that the first Judge of black ethnicity in England and Wales was not appointed until 2004.
We do not know, why its writer and director did not stick to the historical facts. Is it because, a hundred years ago, the British society of the 1920s was not as progressive as it is being portrayed in the film?
You all think about it.
The conclusion
If one can put aside the above-mentioned criticism, then we are sure that one can enjoy this comedy film. We loved both Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, go watch it for them and the use of crude language.
It is a naughty and mischievous film.
Rating: Wicked Little Letters (2024) Movie
| FM Rating | 3.65/5 |
| FM Short Comments | As, we said earlier, both the lead actresses Olivia Colman (Edith Swan) and Jessie Buckley (Rose Gooding) are in the top comical form. It has been a while since we watched Olivia Colman in a devilish comedy full of raunchy language. The other members of the cast have played their part in making it a raucous comedy. It is a good time-pass comedy for adults only, mind you because of its nasty language. |
Poster: Wicked Little Letters (2024) Movie
Key Details: Wicked Little Letters (2024) Movie
| Genre | Comedy, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller |
| Original language | English (UK) |
| Duration | 1 hour 42 minutes |
| Writer | Jonny Sweet |
| Director | Thea Sharrock |
| Taglines | Be careful what you post. It’s not a whodunit, it’s a who wrote it. |
| Cast | Olivia Colman (Edith Swan), Jessie Buckley (Rose Gooding), Anjana Vasan (Police Officer Gladys Moss), Timothy Spall (Edward Swan), Gemma Jones (Victoria Swan), Malachi Kirby (Bill), Alisha Weir (Nancy Gooding), Hugh Skinner (Constable Papperwick), Joanna Scanlan (Ann), Lolly Adefope (Kate), Eileen Atkins (Mabel), etc. |
| Distributors | Sony Pictures Classics |
Poster and Featured Image of the Wicked Little Letters (2024) Film are courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
