The Big Picture

Wicked Little Letters
is a witty comedic mystery film set in 1920s England.
A spectacular cast led by Olivia Colman & Jessie Buckley makes the movie a joy to watch.
The mystery itself feels rushed and predictable.

This review is based on a screening at the Palm Springs Film Festival.

Just about anyone who has ever had a presence on social media has probably gotten a rude message or two that could be described as “wicked.” Hate mail is something that has existed since time immemorial, but in the age of the internet, mean messages have become par for the course in any online discussion. Of course, that’s not how things used to be, and the simple act of sending an anonymous, hateful letter rather than a YouTube comment was something of a more intimate, dramatic, and sometimes even serious affair.

One such setting where this concept was abundantly apparent was in early 20th-century England, where a scandalous string of raunchy letters began entering the mailboxes of dozens of unassuming people. That’s the true story that Me Before You and The One and Only Ivan director Thea Sharrock explores with Wicked Little Letters. Set during the 1920s, a reserved and religious woman named Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) begins receiving some mysterious letters, all of which feature abusive language that she and her conservative parents find appalling. The Swans immediately accuse their next-door neighbor, a free-spirited Irish immigrant named Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), of being the writer of the letters, given how her care-free and foul-mouthed disposition is infamous in their quaint town of Littlehampton. However, an often underestimated woman police officer, Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), has doubts and suspects that Rose may be getting framed for her involvement in the scandal.

Wicked Little Letters (2024) When people in Littlehampton–including conservative local Edith–begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town’s women investigate.Release Date April 5, 2024 Runtime 100 Minutes Writers Johnny Sweet Studio(s) Film4 , Blueprint Pictures , South of the River Pictures , People Person Pictures Distributor(s) StudioCanal

The stories of these three women converge in Wicked Little Letters, which ends up being a wickedly entertaining comedic mystery. This is achieved primarily through a spectacular ensemble cast led by Colman and Buckley and some tremendously witty dialogue from scribe Jonny Sweet in his feature screenwriting debut. While Thea Sharrock’s third feature film occasionally falls into the tropes of other dramatized biopics, Wicked Little Letters is a fun mystery to watch unfold.

‘Wicked Little Letters’ Shines Most Through Its Spectacular Cast

In case you didn’t know, Olivia Colman is a sensational actor. In other news, water is wet. Yes, saying an Academy Award-winner like Colman is excellent in whatever she’s in almost feels redundant at this point. Still, it really can’t be understated that she has once again proven herself to be one of the finest performers working in the industry today with Wicked Little Letters. Even when she’s playing a character that could essentially be summarized as a 20th-century “Karen,” Colman’s personality and charisma are practically infectious. Through sheer visual emotions alone, the character of Edith Swan is hysterically funny at some moments and deeply sympathetic in others.

The same can also be said for Buckley as Wicked Little Letters reunites the two actors after they played the same character in 2021’s The Lost Daughter. Just like Colman, Buckley is a delight to watch on screen, injecting so much personality and charm into the character of Rose Gooding. She’s the source of some of the movie’s best zingers, such as when she explains to her daughter (Alisha Weir) that the rude slang on their front door is just a German expression.

Narratively, Edith and Rose serve as marvelous foils to one another. Where Edith is polite and reserved, Rose is rambunctious and outspoken. Where Rose believes she should be free to live life on her own terms, Edith thinks that societal roles dictate a woman needs to be proper and inoffensive. It’s a great dichotomy, though it’s a bit of a shame that we don’t get to see the early days of their relationship more. Their lives and friendship prior to the infamous letters are summed up in a quick montage, and while it gets the job done, I wouldn’t have minded seeing an extra 15–20 minutes of the two just interacting with each other.

The rest of Wicked Little Letters’ supporting cast is stellar, especially with Killing Eve star Anjana Vasan delivering a stellar feature breakout performance as Officer Moss. Another standout is Timothy Spall playing Edith’s abusive and controlling father, who ends up being more vile and unlikable than his infamous character in the Harry Potter saga. Also, a notable member of the cast is Weir, and while she doesn’t have a ton of screentime as Rose’s daughter, she makes enough of an impression to prove that her stellar performance in Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical was no fluke.

The Comedy of ‘Wicked Little Things’ Soars, but Its Mystery is a Bit Lacking
Image via Studiocanal

For their first feature screenplay, Sweet knocks things out of the park with the dialogue of Wicked Little Things. Paired with the aforementioned talent of the cast, the delightfully vile and creative wordplay is bound to get plenty of thunderous laughs from the audience. The cast and writing also manage to pull off the moments where Wicked Little Things gets a bit more serious, primarily with the troubles that Edith experiences within the confines of her own home. Again, Colman’s range as an actor is second to none, as she can go from hilarious to tragic at the drop of a hat.

If you were to map out the total tone percentage of Wicked Little Things, it’s about 75% comedy and 20% drama. The remaining 5% is the film’s sense of mystery, which is where it struggles a bit. In short, the mystery of who is sending the titular notes is pretty apparent, and it seems like the movie knows that. The true culprit is revealed in a sequence that feels rushed and quickly waves by the topic in an oddly paced moment. This also all occurs about midway through the film, so after it happens, the movie starts barreling toward a somewhat predictable and cliché finale.

As stated in the film’s obligatory “Where are they Now” epilogue, the true story of Swan and Gooding is fairly muddled in history, so it’s difficult to say how accurate and romanticized Wicked Little Letters is. Regardless of that, Sharrock’s latest is a delightfully crude time at the movies. It effectively makes its audience laugh while also having something to say in between jokes, offering a meaningful commentary on societal standards projected onto women by men both in the 1920s and today. Ultimately, Wicked Little Letters is a delightful comedy worth writing home about (just be sure to watch your language when you do).

Wicked Little Letters (2024) REVIEWWicked Little Letters is a delightful movie with a great cast who all make the most of the fun dialogue.ProsJonny Sweet knocks things out of the park with the dialogue in their first feature screenplay.Olivia Colman is as good as ever, capturing moments both hysterically funny and more emotionally complicated.Jessie Buckley is similarly bursting with charm and personality, proving be a joy to watch once more. ConsThe central mystery is where the film struggle as it is rather clear who is behind it all.In connection with the obvious mystery, the finale is rather predictable and cliché.

Wicked Little Letters is now in theaters in the U.S. Click below for showtimes.

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