'Wicked Little Letters' makes wit out of witless profanity

In twenties England, the town of Littlehampton is rocked by a mystery unlike any other at the time - the people are receiving poison-pen letters filled with profanities. Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) appears to be the main target, and her father Edward (Timothy Spall) suspects it to be their next-door neighbour Rose (Jessie Buckley), an Irish immigrant who is at risk of losing custody of her daughter (Alisha Weir) due to the accusations...

As much as there's always plenty of fun to be had with bad language, 'Wicked Little Letters' is a movie that could have easily swung in another direction entirely. After all, the movie is set in '20s England, in the direct aftermath of the 1916 Rising and features an Irish woman as one of its two leads and covers anti-Irish sentiments playing a role. Yet, Thea Sharrock's direction and the relentless comedic energy that comes off of 'Wicked Little Letters' means that it veers into something like a romp and a farce. There's a giddy energy to the whole thing, zipping along its merry way, familiar though it may be, but entertaining nonetheless.

Olivia Colman's comedic talents are in no dispute. You only need to look at the wealth of her work from 'Peep Show', 'That Mitchell & Webb Look', and of course, 'Fleabag'. Here in 'Wicked Little Letters', she's in comfortable waters playing a highly-strung, overly English matron whose sensibilities are offended in every single way by the free-spirited, garrulous and expletive character played by Jessie Buckley. Their dynamic works a charm together, as although Colman is straight-laced, she's never the straight one on screen. Likewise, Timothy Spall's gammon-esque rage and spittle as he rattles around on the screen adds to it all.

Jessie Buckley's trajectory has been a fascinating one to chart in the last few years, going from twisted horrors like Alex Garland's 'Men' to soulful dramas like 'Women Talking', as well as impactful guest spots in HBO's 'Chernobyl' and the most recent BBC adaptation of 'War & Peace'. Yet here in 'Wicked Little Letters', she's decidedly at home with the comedic tones present in the script and is more than capable of holding her own against a force like Olivia Colman.

Thea Sharrock's filmography so far has been less exciting, however. Before this, there was the Disney family adventure 'The One and Only Ivan', and before that came the romantic drama 'Me Before You'. However, Sharrock's work in theatre is much more rounded in comedy, having directed productions of some of Noël Coward's most notable works, not to mention Molière's 'The Misanthrope', which highlighted the numerous hypocrisies in French aristocracy. 'Wicked Little Letters' moves in a similar way, discussing how hypocritical it is of people to have a problem with foul language and the like, yet happily living with anger and rage around them. It's witty stuff, not the least of the fun watching Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley curse like sailors at every available opportunity.