Wicked Little Letters (2023)
An Irish woman (Jessie Buckley) in
small-town England shortly after World War I is accused of writing obscene
poison pen letters to the community in the new comedy Wicked Little Letters.
Edith (Olivia Colman) is a prim,
devoutly Christian spinster living with her even more devout parents (Timothy
Spall and Gemma Jones). She is the chief target of the poison pen letters
(think the old-time equivalent of today's internet trolls). The crime is
punishable by prison time, and authorities soon come to believe that the
foul-mouthed, confrontational Rose (Buckley) is behind them. The town's first
female constable (Anjana Vasan) investigates.
Wicked Little Letters, directed
by Thea Sharrock, is one of those movies that is by no means bad but also never
quite takes off, either. There's a lot of potential for comedy and social
commentary in the plot (it's based on a true story). While periodically
amusing, it's never hilarious. The scenes involving the female constable's
treatment on the job by her colleagues are the weakest and most strained in
their attempts at humor. Another problem is the film never quite decides whose
story it's telling. Rose seems like the main character but then disappears for
long stretches. On the plus side, Buckley and Colman are both good in the lead
roles.
Even if Wicked Little Letters never
fully succeeds, there's a dearth of comedies in the theatrical landscape so
it's nice to see filmmakers are still willing to try them.
