When people in Littlehampton–including conservative local Edith–begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town’s women investigate.

‘Wicked Little Letters’ is a British comedy based on a bizarre and mostly forgotten scandal from 1920s England revolving around a series of obscene letters being sent to residents in the seaside town of Littlehampton. Perhaps the reason the scandal has been forgotten is because it is well, largely forgettable, and the filmmakers struggle to fully inject life into the premise despite a more than game cast. The premise seems to be ‘wouldn’t it be funny to hear Olivia Colman swear in a variety of unusual ways?’, and that can only get you so far.

The plot centres on two women who are neighbours and were at one time friends. They are Edith Swan (Olivia Colman), a frumpy middle aged woman who is under the control of her domineering father (Timothy Spall), and Rose Gooding, an uncouth Irish immigrant who has a loud mouth and a lack of respect for the societal norms of the time. After they fall out and Edith starts receiving malicious and obscene letters, suspicion naturally falls upon Rose, leading to Rose’s arrest and a subsequent escalation in the frequency and the variety of the letters and their recipients. Only PC Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) believes Rose, and as the situation escalates, she sets out to find out the truth with the aid of other women in the town.

There’s a solid enough idea here to deliver a raucous, bawdy comedy from this premise, but unfortunately director Thea Sharrock and writer Jonny Sweet mistake lots of swearing for good comedy, and it isn’t enough to sustain the fairly lacklustre plot. It is a shame because there’s some really enjoyable performances here, most notably Jessie Buckley who is a riot and I’d love to see her do more comedy (hopefully better than this!). Olivia Colman is also well cast and the supporting cast are pretty good as well, but that isn’t enough to make ‘Wicked Little Letters’ anything more than a mildly humorous movie that I’ll have forgotten about in a week’s time – much like the story that forms the basis of the plot.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Thea Sharrock

Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Malachi Kirby, Timothy Spall, Joanna Scanlon, Gemma Jones, Lolly Adefope, Eileen Atkins, Alisha Weir, Hugh Skinner, Richard Goulding, Jason Watkins and Krishni Patel

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt20234774/