''Wicked Little Letters'' is a 2023 British

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

directed by

Thea Sharrock Thea Sharrock is an English theatre and film director. In 2001, at age 24, she became the artistic director of London's Southwark Playhouse and the youngest artistic director in British theatre. Early life and education Sharrock was born to ...

, written by

Jonny Sweet Jonathan Huw Sweet (born 1985) is a British comedian and the recipient of the 2009 Edinburgh Comedy Award for best newcomer. Early life Sweet was born in Nottingham and educated at the local independent school Nottingham High School. He read ...

and starring

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...

Jessie Buckley Jessie Buckley (born December 28, 1989) is an Irish actress and singer. The accolades she has received include a Laurence Olivier Award, and nominations for an Academy Award and three BAFTA Awards. Buckley began her career in 2008 as a contes ...

Anjana Vasan Anjana Vasan (born 31 January 1987) is an Indian-born actress based in the United Kingdom. For her stage work, Vasan has won a Laurence Olivier Award. On television, she stars in the Channel 4 sitcom '' We Are Lady Parts'' (2021–2024), for wh ...

Joanna Scanlan Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress and writer. On television, she is known for her roles in ''The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), ''Big School'' (2013–2014), ''Puppy Love'' (2014), '' No Offence'' (2015–2018), ...

Gemma Jones Jennifer "Gemma" Jones (born 4 December 1942) is an English actress. Appearing on both stage and screen, her film appearances include ''Sense and Sensibility (film), Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), the Bridget Jones (film series), ''Bridget Jo ...

, Malachi Kirby,

Lolly Adefope Ololade "Lolly" Adefope (born ) is an English stand-up comedian and actress, specialising in character comedy. She is known for playing the role of Fran in the Hulu comedy series ''Shrill (TV series), Shrill'', and as Kitty, the ghost of a Geor ...

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins (born 15 June 1934) is an English actress. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting ...

and

Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall ( ; born 27 February 1957) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his character actor roles on stage and screen. In 2000, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. S ...

. Based on the

Littlehampton libels The Littlehampton libels were a series of letters sent to numerous residents of Littlehampton, in southern England, over a three-year period between 1920 and 1923. The letters, which contained obscenities and false accusations, were written ...

of the 1920s, it follows an investigation into the anonymous author of numerous crudely insulting letters sent to the residents of the seaside town of

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south south-west of London, west of Brighton and ...

. ''Wicked Little Letters'' premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on 9 September 2023, and was released in the United Kingdom by

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film & television production and distribution company which is a ...

on 23 February 2024. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and grossed $27.2 million on a $12.6 million budget.

Plot

In 1920, Edith Swan, a devout Christian in

, becomes the target of hate mail, an issue of great distress to her controlling father Edward and gentle mother Victoria. Having endured 19 such letters filled with profanities, Edward seeks the assistance of the local police. They suspect their neighbour, the single mother and Irish migrant Rose Gooding, as the sender. Highlighting Rose's infamous proclivity for swearing, Edith testifies that she and Rose initially shared a friendship regardless of their differences. This friendship abruptly ended following an episode in which Rose head-butted one of Edward's guests at his birthday party. This was followed by a visit from the local child protection services acting on a tip; believing Edith had called them, Rose ended the friendship. Rose is arrested. Since she cannot afford

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

, Rose is remanded ahead of her trial, set to take place in two-and-a-half months. She leaves her daughter Nancy in the care of Bill, her partner. A police officer, Gladys Moss, is sceptical about Rose's involvement, noticing differences between Rose's handwriting and that of the letters. Her observations are dismissed by her misogynistic superior Chief Constable Spedding, who forbids her from investigating. Gladys meets Edith's friends Ann, Mabel and Kate for insight. Kate detests her, but Ann and Mabel are more sympathetic. Rose initially attempts to seek Gladys' help but is rebuffed; Ann and Mabel bail her out anyway. Immediately upon Rose's release, Edward and other Littlehampton residents begin receiving similar letters and blame Rose. The case swiftly becomes a national sensation, catching the attention of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and the press. Gladys finally agrees to help Rose, noting the discrimination they have faced. Privately, Edith is revealed to be the sender, having orchestrated the affair to channel her repressed anger towards Edward's maltreatment of her. She writes another letter to herself, only for it to be intercepted by an unknowing Victoria, who collapses and dies upon reading it. While concluding the police formalities, Gladys notices similarities between Edith's signature and the letters; again, her claims are dismissed by Spedding, who suspends her from duty for violating his order not to investigate the case. Undeterred, Gladys enlists Ann, Mabel and Kate to investigate privately, albeit without Rose's involvement. Edith evades Gladys and outsmarts her while posting another letter. On the eve of her trial, Rose finally discovers the ruse when she notices that the distinctive form of the letter ''G'' on a commercial sign that Edith had painted earlier is identical to that in the letters. During the trial, Rose admits her infamy for her profuse vulgarities, noting she would have communicated them verbally rather than write the anonymous letters. Her defence counsel also points to Edith's handwriting but is dismissed. The prosecution corners Rose by revealing Nancy's true origins as an illegitimate child and not the daughter of a killed

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

soldier, as Rose had previously claimed. The revelation upsets both Nancy and Bill. Later, Edith confronts Edward over his control, he was the one who tipped off child services on Rose; he shuts her up. The next day, Gladys and the trio realise Edith would write a final letter and thus prepare stamps marked with specially-prepared

invisible ink Invisible ink, also known as security ink or sympathetic ink, is a substance used for writing, which is invisible either on application or soon thereafter, and can later be made visible by some means, such as heat or ultraviolet light. Invisibl ...

for Edith to use, which she falls for. Rose flees when Spedding attempts to arrest her prematurely. She corners Edith over her trickery, culminating in their exchanging foul language; eventually she goads her into posting the letter. Gladys has her niece intercept it inside the mailbox, and then demonstrates Edith's culpability by revealing the special ink, resulting in Edith's arrest and Rose's exoneration. Following the trial, the two women share a civil moment; Edith regrets the end of the friendship, explaining she meant no harm. She manages a final, defiant moment against Edward by cursing at him publicly, much to his shock and Rose's glee. Edith was sentenced to twelve months

hard labour Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

, Rose was never accused again, and Gladys was commended for her actions.

Cast

Production

The story and social context behind the plot had been explored in two books by historian Emily Cockayne, ''Cheek by Jowl: A History of Neighbours'' and ''Penning Poison: A History of Anonymous Letters''. The film was announced in May 2022, with

set to direct, with

and

starring. In September, the cast was rounded out with

and

among the additions. Production began in September 2022 and continued till early October in

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

and

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, with some scenes filmed in and around the former Crown Court in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

. Ben Davis served as cinematographer.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

took place on Stage 1 of

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

Release

The film premiered at the

on 9 September 2023. In November 2023,

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

acquired North American and Chinese distribution rights, after its sister company

Stage 6 Films Stage 6 Films, Inc. is an American film division of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions that acquires and produces feature films to be released either theatrically, on demand, or through streaming services. Once a film is finished, Sony Picture ...

acquired international rights in various countries including Latin America, Scandinavia, Asia (excluding China), Eastern Europe, the CIS and the Baltics. The film was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2024. The movie was added to

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in the United Kingdom and the United States through first window deals with respective distributors on 26 and 27 July.

Reception

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "The chief delight in ''Wicked Little Letters'' is watching Colman and Buckley in action; it's really not much of a mystery, as the culprit is revealed to us long before the townsfolk catch on."

References

External links

* {{Thea Sharrock 2023 films 2023 black comedy films 2020s British films 2020s comedy mystery films 2020s English-language films British black comedy films British comedy mystery films British films based on actual events Comedy films based on actual events Film4 Productions films Films directed by Thea Sharrock Films produced by Graham Broadbent Films scored by Isobel Waller-Bridge Films set in the 1920s Films set in Sussex Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in West Sussex Films about letters (message) Mystery films based on actual events Sony Pictures Classics films Stage 6 Films films StudioCanal films English-language black comedy films English-language comedy mystery films