Olivia Colman leads a strong cast in comedic mystery Wicked Little Letters, but does the film work?
Based on a true story, Wicked Little Letters takes place in the 1920s. The film follows a nonsensical mystery of an anonymous writer sending poison letters to residents of Littlehampton, West Sussex. Director Thea Sharrock has Call The Midwife credits to her name. Here, she moves in a decidedly different direction.
The comedy mystery follows Edith (Olivia Colman), a spinster living with her parents. She has received several vulgar letters from an unknown source. Unbelievably, the plot takes inspiration from a true scandal in Littlehampton around a century ago.
If Olivia Colman returning to her comedic roots is enough of a hook, you’re in luck so far.
Despite the plot’s absurdity, Colman delivers a strong performance. After all, talented actors excel across different genres. After playing formidable women like DS Ellie Miller on Broadchurch, she is very believable as the put-down upon Edith.
Jessie Buckley as loudmouthed, Irish immigrant Rose serves as an entertaining contrast. I think writers have the most fun with characters like Rose, who have absolutely no filter. Then, by contrast, practically Edith’s whole character is biting her lip in public and not saying what she really wants to.
Once Rose’s full story comes out, there’s a bit of sympathy, as well as some disapproval of her past actions.
First and foremost, the film is a farce. I say this with utmost respect, as it is almost too generous to include mystery as a genre. The ‘reveal’ seems fairly obvious, the supposed ‘culprit’ at the start is very clearly a red herring.
In my opinion, story accelerates once the audience knows letter writer’s identity.
Colman and Buckley take centre stage but a strong supporting cast is also along for the ride. Coincidentally, the pair have played the same character in the past. They portrayed different age versions of the same role in 2021’s The Lost Daughter.
Timothy Spall makes a great turn as Edward Swan, Edith’s father. Edward is very much a man of his time. He reads out some of the letters, many of which have crass or offensive language. Spall’s indignant delivery makes for some funny lines.
The ever-reliable Malachi Kirby makes a small appearance as Bill, boyfriend to Rose. Although Kirby has leading man experience in projects like Roots, he really only has a few scenes in Wicked Little Letters.
Gemma Jones, who filmgoers might recognise as Pamela from Bridget Jones, plays Edith’s mother. I was particularly excited about Lolly Adefope, known as Kitty in Ghosts, but alas she has a fairly small role.
Screenwriter Jonny Sweet also appears in a minor role, in somewhat ‘Hitchcockian’-style.
The film has a secondary narrative with ‘woman policeman’ PC Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan). Poor Gladys. Not only does she face discrimination in her job, she also has the legacy of a great police officer father to live up to.
This Country star Paul Chahidi (aka the Vicar) has a fun supporting role as Gladys’ bumbling Sergeant. A far different role from his turn on the BBC mockumentary. It was a nice surprise to see Chahidi in Wicked Little Letters.
When she’s introduced, I did not realise Gladys was a major character so her growing role took me by surprise. Anjana Vasan does well with the character and I enjoyed her scenes. The audience also gets an insight into the character’s life, with the presence of her niece.
In one sense, Gladys’ journey in the film almost mirrors Edith. Both start out as quiet, seemingly unassuming women. However, by the end, both have come out of their shells. Gladys ends up saving the day and Edith… well, if you’ve seen the film you’ll know how that turns out.
Overall, I found Wicked Little Letters to be funny, entertaining and light-hearted viewing.
★★★
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A lifelong TV and Film buff, Conor founded Courageous Nerd in 2019. He has conducted hundreds of interviews for the site, as well as written comprehensive feature articles on a variety of topics. You can find him on X: @conorrcn.
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