Review: Wicked Little Letters

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Official Synopsis: When people in Littlehampton, including conservative local Edith (Olivia Colman) begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose (Jessie Buckley) is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town's women investigate.

I open this review with a question. Have you seen ANY marketing for this film? Any ads at all? Because I have not. When I saw my local indie theater was getting it, I of course hit "play" on the trailer based on Colman and Buckley's names alone. This was my first time seeing anything about this film.

Which is a shame, because it should be advertised everywhere. What a delightful little comedy this was. Full of amazing performances from the largely female cast, and brilliantly directed by Thea Sharrock. Yes, there's bursts of creative profanity, but it's well placed for maximum laughs. Comedies in my opinion are always best enjoyed in groups so the laughter can be contagious and hearing so many people completely lose it over proper Olivia Colman talking about a "foxy asshole" just made the whole thing even more enjoyable. 

Colman and Buckley are great in everything, especially here. Anjana Vasan, who plays the police officer that takes a special interest in this case also gives a great performance. I'm familiar with her from Black Mirror, and it was nice to see her on screen again. You have to admire her character's resolve.

While there is a 3rd act "revelation" that I don't think quite works overall, this is brisk and funny watch, and on top of that, you get to support a lot of female artists. What's not to love?

Grade: A-

Comments

  1. thevoid99April 15, 2024 at 5:19 PM

    I have heard about this film for months. It's a shame it's not being marketed well as the idea of all of the profanities that occurs throughout the film probably makes it fun to watch. Plus, I love Olivia Colman as I'm always reminded into why she was the one person in Secret Invasion that made that awful series worth watching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 16, 2024 at 8:05 AM

      I got zero marketing for it! Google is apparently not doing it's job in knowing everything about me very well lol. I never did finish Secret Invasion. One episode was enough.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousApril 24, 2024 at 7:56 AM

    This is Birgit…I so want to see this. You are right, I have seen nothing n this comedy and it reminds me of Waking Ned Divine and others like this. Love Olivia Coleman and want to see this film before it disappears

    ReplyDelete
  3. RuthApril 24, 2024 at 11:13 PM

    Colman and Buckley are always so fabulous, love their chemistry on and off screen during interviews. It's too bad Netflix bungled the marketing as this movie is so well worth a watch! I like Anjana Vasan here too and her character arc is compelling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 26, 2024 at 8:57 AM

      Is Netflix releasing this outside of the U.S? I had no idea!

      Delete

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