There are plenty of reasons you might like to see Wicked Little Letters. But then, there’s the reason you need to see it.
Wicked Little Letters is a historical comedy-drama set in a small English town in the early 20th century, following Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) as residents begin to receive explicit poison pen letters – leading to an accusation levelled at Rose (Jessie Buckley), an Irish immigrant who’s raised eyebrows since her arrival with her daughter.
Wicked Little Letters is, apart from that reason, which I shall get to, a very good film. Thea Craddock is a director with a solid back catalogue (though we shan’t mention Me Before You, thank you so much), and she brings a sharp and incisive eye to her creation of the world of Littlehampton, Sussex, and the foibles and intricacies of the social structure therein. The cast is filled with great British character actors, both of the old guard (Joanna Scanlan, Timothy Spall, Gemma Jones) and the new (Malachi Kirby, Hugh Skinner, Anjana Vasan, Lolly Adefope), all of whom have a deft hand with the arch script from Jonny Sweet. If you want to hear incredibly decorated thespians reading the most outrightly abject filth you’ve ever heard in a deliciously clipped Sussex accent, this is the movie for you, I’ll just say that much.
And the historical setting really lifts this movie out of the standard comedy-drama, too. Set in 1920, Wicked Little Letters is as much about women navigating their place in society in the middle ground between the end of the First World War in 1918 and the first steps towards full women’s suffrage in 1928 as it is about the case at hand, and it’s a compelling aspect that fits perfectly into this storyline and alongside these characters.
But the reason, the big one? You already know it. It’s Olivia Colman.
Honestly, what a joy to be watching movies at a time when Colman is soaring so high in her career; she’s not just one of the best actors working today, but one of the best I’ve ever seen across any medium at any time. Edith Swan as a character has a real richness to her – a woman very politely pounding against the walls of the cage that’s held her for so long, as a good Christian spinster and dutiful daughter – to begin with, but what Colman brings to it is impeccable. She’s a great scene partner to Jessie Buckley (whose outrageous charisma and watchability is on full display here), and that clipped, taut, tightly-wound pseudo-niceness that swiftly turns into some kind of poison-penned mania is a joy to behold unfolding. She’s an amazing comedic actor, of course, but it’s what she does in the quieter moments of the movie that really drive home how brilliant she is. Those small moments where the façade breaks, those are what make this film fantastic.
Wicked Little Letters is a delightful little gem of a film – witty, sharp, and with something genuinely interesting to say about women’s changing place in society in the wake of the First World War. But if you need any more convincing, Olivia Colman should be enough to put you over the edge.
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via IMDB)
No But Listen 