Wicked Little Letters

“We worship a messiah who suffered, so by suffering, don’t we move closer to Heaven?”

“…No, I don’t think so.”

This exchange, between the devout Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and her father Edward (Timothy Spall), is humorous in the context of the film, but also hints at one of the film’s central themes, a religious fervor that’s been ground into someone without choice and to their ultimate detriment. Based on a true story that occurred in the English village of Littlehampton in the wake of World War I, Wicked Little Letters, from director Thea Sharrock, is a film that is largely successful because of a very funny script and excellent performances.

The film opens with Edith, her father, and her mother Victoria (Gemma Jones) looking over the newest of a series of nearly twenty obscene letters that Edith has received in the mail from an anonymous writer. The horrified family believes the writer to be their neighbor, Irish immigrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). Beyond a simple prejudice, Rose is known to be something of a wild child. She’s a single mother who drinks late at the local pub and who swears liberally and publicly. The Swans call in the police, and Constable Papperwick (Hugh Skinner) arrests Rose and brings Edith in to give a statement. Thus begins a short section of flashbacks showing that when Rose initially moved in, Edith really took to her feisty neighbor, and they were friends. But following a dust-up at Edward’s birthday party, Child Protective Services was called in to check on Rose’s daughter Nancy (Alisha Weir). Rose blames Edith, and the two are friends no m,ore. At the police station, Rose also meets Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), a female officer almost always referred to humorously in the film as “Woman Police Officer Moss”. Gladys has doubts about Rose’s guilt but can do nothing to stop her from being sent to prison while she awaits trial.

Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

In the meantime, Edith has been getting a lot of press attention regarding the scandal, and praising her pious nature. She subtly, and sometimes not-so-subtly, brags about this to the other members of the Christian Women’s Whist club. Some, like Kate (Lolly Adefope), who has taken over her husband’s place at the post office following his death in the war, initially support her, while other like Ann (Joanna Scanlan), a local farmer and Mabel (Eileen Atkins) are, at the very least, quickly tired of hearing her talk about it. As their doubts grow, Ann and Mabel bail Rose out of prison. Now reunited with Nancy and her boyfriend Bill (Malachi Kirby), Rose is more determined than ever to prove her innocence. As she points out to Gladys, she’s never afraid to speak her mind to anyone publicly, so why would she send anonymous letters? But at the same time, the letter-writing expands, with people all over the village now receiving the dirty letters. Gladys, who has been investigating the case with the help of Ann and Mabel, brings her findings to Chief Constable Spedding (Paul Chahidi). But as he had previously told her to stay out of it, he suspends her from the police force. But the women don’t give up, determined to find the true author of the letters while Rose faces trial.

As mentioned above, one of the great strengths of Wicked Little Letters is the script, written by comedian Jonny Sweet. It is especially wonderful in the first hour, and contains more laugh-out-loud moments than I’ve had in a theater in a long time. But beyond just comedy, the film is taking on several things thematically all tied into what is “proper”. There are feminist elements dealing with how women are treated, especially in the wake of them having to take on new societal roles during and in the wake of World War I. There is a focus on the effects of harshness and control in a family, with Edward seeing the proper role of wife and daughter as just knowing their place. And finally, there are the elements tied into religion, with Edith’s piety (however performative) and buttoned-down personality being the proper way to behave. Sweet’s script handles this exceptionally well early on, but as the film moves to a somewhat more serious resolution, it does bog down a bit. It’s a shame that the last 20 minutes or so don’t live up to the rest of the film.

Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

Another highlight of the film is in the performances. Jessie Buckley is wonderful, perfectly embodying this character in her early profane exuberance, and also outstanding in a late dramatic turn. She’s one of the best actresses working today. Olivia Colman is also excellent playing the various facets of the struggling Edith. Her scenes with Timothy Spall are especially good, with Spall playing a cruelty I haven’t seen him do before. Anjana Vasan, who I’ve only seen before in smaller parts, is terrific here. There’s a small scene at the seaside where she’s dealing with her father’s legacy that’s very touching. She also has several funny scenes with the other police officers which have something of a Hot Fuzz energy.

The film is also well done technically. Director Thea Sharrock is an excellent director of actors. There is also some great shot composition, with Sharrock and her cinematographer Ben Davis taking advantage of the small seaside village setting. Composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, who has been very busy recently, turns in a lovely score here. Wicked Little Letters is a very funny film with something to say. It’s well worth seeking out if it’s playing anywhere near you.

WICKED LITTLE LETTERS is in theaters now.