WICKED LITTLE LETTERS [2023] [Blu-ray] [2023 / 2024] [UK Release] The British Black Comedy of the Year! Be Careful What You Post! This is more true, than you’d think!
When residents of 1920’s Littlehampton begin to receive wicked letters full of hilarious profanities, foulmouthed Rose Gooding is charged with the crime. However, as the town’s women – led by Police Officer Gladys Moss [Anjana Vasan] begin to investigate the crime themselves, they suspect that something is amiss, and Rose Gooding may not be the culprit after all. The anonymous letters prompt a national uproar, and a trial ensues.
FILM FACT: The film ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ was announced in May 2022, with Thea Sharrock set to direct, and Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley starring.[9] In September, the cast was rounded out with Anjana Vasan, Timothy Spall, Gemma Jones and Eileen Atkins among the additions. ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ Production began in September 2022 and continued until early October 2022 in Arundel and Worthing, and some scenes were filmed in and around the former Crown Court in Aylesbury with Ben Davis serving as cinematographer. Principal photography took place on Stage 1 of Pinewood Studios. ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on the 9th September, 2023, and ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ was released in the United Kingdom by StudioCanal on 23rd February, 2024. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, “The chief delight in ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ is watching Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley in action; it's really not much of a mystery, as the culprit is revealed to us long before the townsfolk catch on.”
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Olivia Colman, Alisha Weir, Timothy Spall, Hugh Skinner, Jason Watkins, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones, Lolly Adefope, Eileen Atkins, Anjana Vasan, Richard Goulding, Tim Key, Malachi Kirby, Paul Chahidi, Jamie Chapman, Susie Fairfax, Grant Crookes, Paul A Munday, Adam Treasure, Nikita Elle Jakobsen, Anais McCabe, Amy Lee Ronaldson, Robyn Elwell, Neil Fox-Roberts, Ryan Mann, Gail Taplin, Vinodini Patel, Frances Barry, Eli Sowden-Mehta, David Evestaff (uncredited) and Eleanor Jones (uncredited)
Director: Thea Sharrock
Producers: Anna Hintzen, Anna Marsh, Ben Knight, Daniel Battsek, Diarmuid McKeown, Ed Sinclair, Emma Mager, Farhana Bhula, Graham Broadbent, Jo Wallett, Joe Naftalin, Olivia Colman, Ollie Madden, Peter Czernin, Ron Halpern, Simon Bird and Tom Carver
Screenplay: Jonny Sweet
Composer: Isobel Waller-Bridge
Make-up and Hair Department: Abbie Wiggins (Assistant Make-up Artist) (credit only), Cara Bevan (Crowd Trainee), Denise Kum (Hair designer / Make-up Designer), Gemma Hoff (Principal hair and Make-up Artist), Samuel James (Wig maker) and Xanthia White (Key hair and Make-up supervisor)
Costume Designer: Charlotte Walter
Special Effects: Chris Reynolds (Special effects supervisor), Danny Hills (Special effects technician), Graham Hills (Special effects floor supervisor) and Peter Kersey (Special effects crew)
Cinematography: Ben Davis, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 DTS Stereo Studio Description
Subtitles: English, Dutch, French and François Benelux
Running Time: 100 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Film4 / Blueprint Pictures / South of the River / People Person Pictures / StudioCanal
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ [2023] is based on a juicy true story from 1920’s England about two neighbours Edith Swan [Olivia Colman] and Rose Gooding [Jessie Buckley[ who play sworn enemies in this delightful saucy libel-case satire film noir irreverent arthouse film and tweaks a traditionally over-polite genre film directed by Thea Sharrock.
This historical comedy film ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ starring Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Timothy Spall, and stars a host of other leading British actors, that will shock and surprise you. And because we love a spot of local scandal, here's how the Littlehampton Letters Scandal, or the Seaside Mystery, played out in the real-life press – the tale is just as intriguing and just as shocking as the film it’s based on.
‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ offers a very bawdy tongue-in-cheek retelling of those events. Titillating profanity aside, it’s a relatively tame critique of 1920’s gender dynamics, focusing on the two women at the centre of the affair — a sour-puss spinster named Edith Swan, who received the bulk of the harassment, and her disruptive Irish neighbour, Rose Gooding, whom she accused of sending the raunchy missives — as well as the female detective responsible for untangling the mystery and was rocked by a scandal involving warring neighbours, miscarriages of justice, and a lot of juicy profanity swearing.
The story is based on the true case of the Libellous Letters in Littlehampton, where a series of poison pen letters were sent to the Sussex town of Littlehampton in the 1920’s just after the end of World War 1, and although there are some embellishments for the sake of the medium, the story stays relatively close to the facts.
Rose Gooding and Edith Swan were once friendly neighbours, with Rose Gooding, her husband, Bill Gooding, and sister Ruth Russell, in 45 Western Road and Edith Swan, her father, mother and two brothers in 47 Western Road. As you can see in the map below, they shared a passageway and a garden which became places of frustration between the neighbours.
We join proceedings with Edith Swan having just received what is described as a 19th poison pen letter sent to her home address. The contents of the letter are shocking to Edith Swan and her parents, and her father rushes to the local police station to report its arrival. Edith Swan’s father Edward Swan portrayed by Tim Spall is depicted as a martinet, and Edith Swan’s home life is cloistered and very suffocating.
Once the arrival of the poison pen letters is reported, suspicion immediately falls upon Rose Gooding, and the police are quick to reach for the easy conclusion that she is the culprit, given that they mostly see her as mouthy, Irish, and unlike her accuser who is lacking the expected standards of femininity and decency. Only one of the local forces remains unconvinced by the convenience of this, where WPC Gladys Moss, played by Anjana Vasan, though her doubts remain not listened to by her chauvinistic superiors. In spite of WPC Gladys Moss’s misgivings, Rose Gooding is arrested, and committed for trial, only avoiding a longer remand stay in Portsmouth Gaol after being bailed out by some of her neighbours in the town.
Eventually the trial begins. As the trial goes on, WPC Gladys Moss and some other women of the town become increasingly convinced of Rose Gooding’s innocence and attempt to assemble the evidence that will reveal the true identity of the author of the letters. But will they manage to do it, and make sure justice is properly served?
But mostly ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ is an incredibly funny, cheeky, and punchy film that will be sure to put a smile on your face. The story is great fun an d keeps you on the edge of your seat right up until the final part of the film. As mentioned it's cheeky and lewd but this isn't the only string to its bow. There are some brilliantly fleshed out and interesting lead characters as well as a great collection of supporting characters, which gives it a great blend of comedy and drama. Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman are the two outstanding actors as the two leads are both brilliant as expected, but Timothy Spall puts in an excellent of someone who was damaged in the First World War. They each bring a different style of comedy to their characters, elevating the witty dialogue superbly. They are just such great fun to watch. Overall this film is just an absolute hoot. It's fun and quirky and boisterous and just a really good time. But once again, ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ is hysterically funny and totally unique. It takes a somewhat humorous true story and adds some great social commentary.
While ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ is largely an amusing escapade, it does have some heavy emotional beats in relation to tough family love, and possibly war PTSD, plus comments on the sacrifices some people make for the sake of others, which are dealt with perceptively and equally. As a general adventure, this is a fine romp with excellent chemistry from the ensemble cast; it’s also nicely paced and pulls you into the little world with genuine intrigue and entertainment. ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ is the reason why actress Olivia Coleman is a National Treasure. Also if you know of Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley’s love for a juicy swearword, then you’re in a definite treat.
Finally, the story is great fun. As mentioned it's cheeky and lewd but this isn't the only string to its bow. There are some brilliantly fleshed out and interesting lead characters as well as a great collection of supporting characters, which gives it a great blend of comedy and drama. Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman as the two leads are both brilliant as expected. They each bring a different style of comedy to their characters, elevating the witty dialogue superbly. The film is just such great fun to watch. Overall, this film is just an absolute hoot, and on top of all that it is great fun, very quirky and totally boisterous and just a really good time are had by all, so enjoy the film folks!
We Are Informed: Edith Swan was sentenced to twelve months’ hard labour. Rose Gooding was never charged with another crime. Gladys Moss now has her own plaque in Littlehampton. Their story was largely lost to history, until now.
WARNING: There is a massive amount of very explicit very rude swear words throughout the ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ film.
WICKED LITTLE LETTERS MUSIC TRACK LIST
CRAZY BLUES (Written by Perry Bradford) [Performed by Noble Sissle with Eubie Blake]
REGGIE PLEASE COME TO BED (Written by Jonny Sweet) [Performed by Alisha Weir]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Film4, Blueprint Pictures, South of the River, People Person Pictures and StudioCanal presents us the film ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ with a wonderful 1080p image with an excellent image presentation, and is viewed in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The transfer comes with a consistent, very-fine layer of grain throughout, giving the image an appreciable cinematic feel. Colours are bold and cleanly-rendered. Contrast is well-balanced and brilliant with crisp, clean whites, which is particularly noticeable during the sled escape down a snowy mountain. Black levels are deep and true with excellent shadow detailing, making this high-definition presentation that is very easy one to love.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Film4, Blueprint Pictures, South of the River Pictures, People Person Pictures and StudioCanal brings us the film ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ with a very nice and natural 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience and the sound mix is splendidly immersive and highly engaging. Composer Isobel Waller-Bridge’s musical score is really excellent with its slant on the 1920’s period in Littlehampton. Dialogue is precise and intelligible at all times. With a detailed and well-balanced audio sound that keeps viewers well entertained, and ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ performs its magic with this excellent Blu-ray disc and enveloping audio track and of course you get to hear the massive amount of very explicit and outrageous very rude swear words very clear and precise.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Frenemies [2023] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:46] With this featurette, at the start we get to meet the two main actors in the film and they are Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman and are here to talk in-depth about the film ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ and to also talk in-depth about their characters in the film and also talk in-depth about the main plot of the film and how they really enjoyed playing their characters on screen. We also get to view lots of on location behind-the-scene filming and also lots of clips from the ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ film. Contributors include: Jessie Buckley [Rose Gooding], Olivia Colman [Edit Swan], Jonny Sweet [Writer], Thea Sharrock [Director], Anjana Vasan [Gladys Moss], Malachi Kirby [Bill] and Timothy Spall [Edward Swan].
Special Feature: True Story [2023] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:19] With this featurette, we get to hear the background story of the true events that happened in Littlehampton in 1920 and how eventually the notorious incident eventually ended being debated by the MP’s in the House of Parliament. Once again we get to see some on location behind-the-scene filming and also lots of clips from the ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ film. Contributors include: Anjana Vasan [Gladys Moss], Jessie Buckley [Rose Gooding], Olivia Colman [Edit Swan], Jonny Sweet [Writer], Thea Sharrock [Director], Timothy Spall [Edward Swan], Malachi Kirby [Bill] and Graham Broadbent [Producer].
Special Feature: Trolling In The Twenties [2023] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:42] With this featurette, once again they talk more about the notorious real historic events that happened in Littlehampton in 1920 where people started receiving really nasty evil poison pen letters and accusing people of doing really nasty things and include in the correspondence really nasty, horrible and disgusting insulting swear words and the people of Littlehampton were accusing Rose Gooding of sending the nasty heinous evil poison pen letters. But of course if the police had checked and compared the handwriting as instigated by the female policewoman Gladys Moss then the case would have been solved so much quicker and found the guilty party in 1920, but unfortunately the male policemen were ignorant misogynous dinosaurs and so negative against female police officers in that period in the 1920’s in Littlehampton, whereas today female police officers are totally respected equally in 21st Century. Once again we get to view lots more clips from ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ film. Contributors include: Olivia Colman [Edit Swan], Jonny Sweet [Writer], Thea Sharrock [Director], Malachi Kirby [Bill], Timothy Spall [Edward Swan] and Anjana Vasan [Gladys Moss].
Finally, with the film ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ [2023] what becomes clear is that Jonny Sweet’s screenplay isn't all that interested in the mystery, but instead dispensing within the halfway mark of the film. Whereas Jonny Sweet’s screenplay is more interested in the reasoning behind the really nasty poison pen letters, and why it gripped the town and why Rose Gooding is such a fiery character to begin with. This is why this type of film is why Britain really excels at, especially films with a stern look and the British class system, gender and the time and place, especially with slapstick humour and the utter joy of hearing Olivia Colman screaming the C-word and that is why the film ‘WICKED LITTLE LETTERS’ has some really great and brilliant moments throughout the film. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
