Directed by: Thea Sharrock
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Timothy Spall, Anjana Vasan, Malachi Kirby, Gemma Jones
Wicked Little Letters is a pleasant comedy about an unpleasant, anonymous writer who sent nasty, profane letters to an unmarried spinster named Edith (Colman), and then several others in 1920's England. Who did it and why? Edith accuses her neighbor Rose (Buckley), a single mother whose husband allegedly died in The Great War, and who is not against throwing down some beers and swearing a bunch. The community soon believes Rose is the culprit and is indeed found guilty in court and jailed.
The first police officer in Sussex, Gladys Moss, (Vasan) privately and soon publicly disagrees that Rose is the author. Despite warnings from her superiors who disdain her, Gladys reopens the investigation. It is then that the letters arrive more frequently and with more targets. The writer's identity is soon revealed, although I will be kind and not spoil it for anyone. However, it is not necessarily surprising.
Wicked Little Letters mostly delivers with standout performances from Olivia Colman as the unwed, repressed woman still living with her overbearing religious parents who exhibit subtle cruelty to her. Buckley's Rose, however, is free-spirited and improper, but still feels a certain sympathy towards Edith. Buckley doesn't just portray Rose as an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed lush, but edges in some added dimensions.
The movie itself is light and based on a true story. Naturally, the real story and biographies of the players are altered, but it's still pretty compelling as a whodunit and then a whydunit. In a way, the perpetrator earns our sympathy a little. Just a little.
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