Directed by Thea Sharrock and written by Jonny Sweet, Wicked Little Letters is everything a period piece should be—gripping, bold, nuanced, and full of brilliantly compelling performances from the entire cast. Set in the 1920s, the film is inspired by the true events that took place in Littlehampton, Sussex. A forgotten part of history, it’s the kind of film that will immediately make viewers scurry to a Google search for research.
From start to finish, Wicked Little Letters holds the audience and engages with the kind of unraveling that’s nowhere near predictable but simultaneously in your face with the right amount of grit. In every frame, there’s something riveting for us to take note of, and the performances remarkably cater to the overarching theme.Â
The film stars Olivia Colman as Edith Swan, a meek Christian spinster still living at home with her overbearing parents, played by Timothy Spall and Gemma Jones. She lives next door to a crass young mother, Jessie Buckley’s Rose Gooding, and often preaches unsolicited sermons from the Bible. A slew of letters constantly appear with threats and horrific comments aimed at Edith, forcing her father to blame Rose because of her spirited nature.
In an effort to keep this review spoiler-free so that viewers can get the entire picture themselves, it’s necessary to note that I won’t be revealing the identity of the actual writer. Still, it’s evident from the trailers that it isn’t Rose, and how the film develops their friendship and fallout makes for one of the most engaging and hilarious third acts in recent years. What’s also gripping is that a story about two opposites could’ve gone in vastly different ways, but the film makes it so incredibly layered even while it’s pointing figures. It’s making a statement about right and wrong through various characters that acutely touches on the beauty of human complexities at a time when women are tirelessly judged far more than men.
Colman and Buckley are such enamoring scene partners that it’s wild to think they played the same character in The Lost Daughter. Their rapport throughout Wicked Little Letters and every scene where they find themselves merely looking at one another makes for indescribably gripping filmmaking. It also feels especially tailor-made for viewers who are already fans of the irresistible marriage that takes place between comedies and mysteries, which is where Sweet’s witty screenplay shines best.
Colman and Buckley are such enamoring scene partners that it’s wild to think they played the same character in The Lost Daughter. Their rapport throughout Wicked Little Letters and every scene where they find themselves merely looking at one another makes for indescribably gripping filmmaking. Further, Alisha Weir and Anjana Vasan bring their A-game through and through. It also feels especially tailor-made for viewers who are already fans of the irresistible marriage that takes place between comedies and mysteries.Â
In addition, with remarkable performances left and right, the film also introduces a few thematic motifs. It touches on a part of Christianity that asks what loving your neighbor truly looks like when they look and sound nothing like you do. It explores the often taxing relationship between children and their parents, bringing toxic fathers to the forefront and highlighting gender inequalities at work.
In any other film, it’d feel like such overt themes were doing too much when merged together, but Wicked Little Letters provides a fascinating showcase of how all these threads are connected. It never feels as though the film is pulling on too many strings, but in its means of linking them, it signifies the bigger picture with the kind of liberating moment that’s out-of-this-world glorious. It tells a story of how societal expectations and the labels put on people often do more damage than good.
Wicked Little Lies is now playing in select theaters.
First Featured Image | Poster Credit: ©StudioCanal