Before social media, you had to troll people the old-fashioned way: poison letters. The new period comedy “Wicked Little Letters” follows just one such incident and chronicles one of the most notorious cases of trolling in British history. The film, directed by Thea Sharrock, is a playful and raunchy story about women who behave badly to break out of their conservative female roles.
Based on true events, “Wicked Little Letters” tells the story of two women who couldn't be more different and the scandal that brought them together in 1920s England. Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) is a single woman who lives with her domineering father Edward (Timothy Spall) and his gentle, meek mother Victoria (Gemma Jones) in a close-knit English village. But right next to her is her polar opposite, young Irish mother Rose Gooding (Jesse Buckley). After the death of her husband, Rose brought her daughter Nancy (Alisha Weir) and her new love Bill (Malachi Kirby) to the small town to start a proper family. But Rose is also a girl who parties, drinks and curses with all the men.
Director: Thea Sharrock
Writer: Jonny Sweet
Stars: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Timothy Spall
In a flashback, we see that Edith tried to take Rose under her wing when the locals started talking, but at some point, things got ugly between the two. Currently, Edith has received 19 poisoned letters, which she believes were written by Rose. The community sides with Edith, as she is a God-fearing woman, and urges the police to hold Rose accountable for her crimes. And her breakup isn't the only reason Edith suspects Rose. The letters themselves mainly contain crude and sexually explicit insults with a variety of inventively arranged profanities. And since Rose is the woman in town who uses the most colorful language, it seems more than likely that it is her.
But there is one officer who doesn't believe Rose is to blame. Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) is the town's only police officer and Rose's main ally, despite her resistance to that title. Despite her keen eye and sharp deduction skills, her fellow officers forbid her from tampering with the case. Not taking no for an answer, Gladys goes off alone, trying to solve the mystery before Rose is sentenced and separated from her daughter. Maybe, deep down, she sees Rose as a kindred spirit. They are both women who buck the conventions of the time, even if they may be on opposite sides of the law.
“Wicked Little Letters” deals primarily with gender roles and the punishment women face for not adhering to a narrow idea of what it means to be a woman. Rose constantly tells Nancy that playing the guitar is not for ladies, while the community also denounces her behavior. Behind closed doors, Edith receives the same treatment from her conservative father, who believes that her daughter's place is to care for him and not have a life of her own. In keeping with the times, her mother never defends her. Edith lives her life under the weight of repression, smiling to mask all of her latent rage. She watches Rose with envy as she continues to live her life freely, despite the looming threat of prison.
The film's script, written by Jonny Sweet, emphasizes this point many times. The men in the film are clumsy or domineering, while the women increasingly exercise their agency. More women delve into the mystery of the cards and ask questions with more curiosity than their male counterparts. Eileen Atkins, Joanna Scanlan and Lolly Adefope complete the cast as local women who become embroiled in the mystery.
Before social media, you had to troll people the old-fashioned way: poison letters. The new period comedy “Wicked Little Letters” follows just one such incident and chronicles one of the most notorious cases of trolling in British history. The film, directed by Thea Sharrock, is a playful and raunchy story about women who behave badly to break out of their conservative female roles.
Based on true events, “Wicked Little Letters” tells the story of two women who couldn't be more different and the scandal that brought them together in 1920s England. Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) is a single woman who lives with her domineering father Edward (Timothy Spall) and his gentle, meek mother Victoria (Gemma Jones) in a close-knit English village. But right next to her is her polar opposite, young Irish mother Rose Gooding (Jesse Buckley). After the death of her husband, Rose brought her daughter Nancy (Alisha Weir) and her new love to the small town to raise a proper family. But Rose is also a girl who parties, drinks and curses with all the men.
In a flashback, we see that Edith tried to take Rose under her wing when the locals started talking, but at some point, things got ugly between the two.
Watch Wicked Little Letters 2023 Movie Trailer
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