X
In Theaters Now
- 2024
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 40 m
- 2024
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 40 m
Summary A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a farcical and occasionally sinister scandal in this riotous mystery comedy. Based on a stranger than fiction true story, Wicked Little Letters follows two neighbours: deeply conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). When Edith and fe...
Directed By: Thea Sharrock
Written By: Jonny Sweet
In Theaters Now
- 2024
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 40 m
- 2024
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 40 m
Wicked Little Letters
58
5.2
Where to Watch
Summary A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a farcical and occasionally sinister scandal in this riotous mystery comedy. Based on a stranger than fiction true story, Wicked Little Letters follows two neighbours: deeply conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). When Edith and fe...
Directed By: Thea Sharrock
Written By: Jonny Sweet
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
58
45% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
53% Mixed
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
58
45% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
53% Mixed
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Whether or not there’s a factual basis to the story, it’s undeniably an absolute blast.
Wicked Little Letters is for people who like British comedy, but also for people who think British comedies are too refined for their taste. This one isn’t. It’s crude and outrageous enough to appeal to modern American audiences.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 10 User Ratings
5.2
40% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
30% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
30% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 10 User Ratings
5.2
40% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
30% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
30% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Just about everyone loves a good mystery, but, in the case of director Thea Sharrock’s latest, viewers are treated to one that’s both intriguing and utterly hilarious. Based on a true story, this delightfully offbeat offering tells the head-scratching tale of a small seaside community in 1920s England in which residents begin receiving anonymously sent letters filled with graphic profanity of a highly colorful and creative nature. The chief suspect is a recently arrived salty-tongued Irish immigrant (Jessie Buckley) who never hesitates to speak her mind or act out when she thinks it appropriate. The primary recipient is her neighbor, a cheery but conservative Christian woman (Olivia Colman), a prim and proper spinster who lives with her stern, judgmental father (Timothy Spall) and elderly, faint-of-heart mother (Gemma Jones). But is the accused really at fault? When a plucky, resourceful policewoman (Anjana Vasan) who’s supposed to stay out of the investigation gets involved, she uncovers evidence that circumstances may not be what they seem. The result is a sidesplitting thriller with loads of twists, turns and misdirections, a clever, original and outrageously waggish release that will tickle the funny bone of anyone who appreciates the wit and wisdom of good, old-fashioned, foul-mouthed cursing (sensitive viewers take note). The positively superb ensemble cast is outstanding across the board, particularly among the aforementioned principals, as well as a host of flamboyant supporting players. It’s obvious that everyone involved in this production had to have had fun making this film, and it shines through loud and clear in the finished product. There are a few sequences where the pacing drags slightly, but who cares? “Wicked Little Letters” is such a good time watch that you won’t really care. What’s perhaps most intriguing, though, is that this is a fact-based story – one that garnered national attention at the time – that had largely been lost to time but that, thankfully, has been brought back to life through this deliciously devious indie gem. Hell, yeah!
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This film is loosely based on a true story that scandalized a Sussex town in the '20s. Olivia Colman plays a devout Christian woman living with her parents in an English village. When she starts getting silly profane letters, she suspects her rowdy Irish neighbor (Jessie Buckley). This sets some of the women in the town on a crusade to discover the true culprit. Being that this charming little comedy is British, you can expect restrained droll moments, even though the bawdy epistles are full of "naughty" language. Of course, Colman and Buckley are great and there's a lovely supporting cast that includes an amusing Anjana Vasan as the "woman police officer." This film breaks no new ground and isn't hilarious, but it does provide the kind of pleasant comedy that's bound to entertain the PBS Masterpiece crowd.
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The movie is full of goofy side characters and one-liners, yet elevated occasionally to genuine complexity by Colman and Buckley, who are consistently the best thing about any movie they’re in.
Sadly, the film runs out of steam as it develops into a detective story with a solution that will surprise nobody.
There are many complaints to be made about “Wicked Little Letters” — its forced humor, its even more forced moral lessons, its tonal unevenness (flat-footed jokiness here, cheap sentimentality there) — but chief among them is wasting Buckley.
It may have been conceived as the kind of classy-but-ribald entertainment that might lure older moviegoers back to theaters. But insulting their intelligence probably isn’t the way to go.
There’s something equally impressive and depressing about the squandered potential of misfiring period comedy Wicked Little Letters, a joyless waste of cast, premise and setting.
Not bad. Humorous. Focuses on hypocrisy, but with being jailed on a simple accusation the story teeters on incredulity. It was still fun and far above many other movies out these days. We'd rate it: "go ahead and watch unless you are offended by vulgarity."
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Wicked Woke Little Letters - Unfortunately this film is absolutely dripping with DEI, thus making the whole experience near unwatchable. It simply makes a mockery of Britain during the 1920s. It's apparently based on a true story? This feels more like a politically correct absurdist fantasy - 1 wicked little star.
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Production Company
Blueprint Pictures,
Film4,
People Person Pictures,
South of the River Pictures,
StudioCanal
Release Date Mar 29, 2024
Duration 1 h 40 m
Rating R
Tagline Be careful what you post.
Awards
Cleveland International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
