The book – and the series – Very British Problems deals with the “faculty” of certain British people to transform trivial situations into drama. This is exactly what happens in Wicked Little Letterswhose screenplay written by actor Jonny Sweet is inspired by a true story.
Neighbors, Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) have nothing in common. The first, pious and reserved, still lives with her parents (Gemma Jones and Timothy Spall). The second, an Irish woman who swears like a carter and who says everything she thinks, is raising her daughter with her new lover. Despite their differences and small clashes, a bond of friendship is forged between the two. Until the day Edith receives an anonymous letter as cruel as it is vulgar. She suspects her neighbor of being the author of the hurtful words. Then, after receiving a 19e missive, his father goes to the police station and demands that the culprit be found.
Rose will be promptly detained awaiting trial. Meanwhile, Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), who was actually the first woman to join the Sussex County force, leads her own investigation with other townspeople who also question Rose’s guilt.
Against the backdrop of the suffragette movement, Wicked Little Letters (Scandalously yoursin French version) is a resolutely feminist work that mocks patriarchy and men in positions of power with humor and without much subtlety.
Thea Sharrock’s film (Me Before You, The One and Only Ivan) amuses above all thanks to its brilliant performances. Olivia Coleman and Jessie Bucley, who played the same character at different ages in The Lost Daughter, are perfect in their respective roles. The actress who played a queen in The Favorite and in The Crown reveals the many nuances of Edith as much through her words as through her gaze and her smile. Jessie Buckley, seen in Men And Wild Rose, is as strong as she is vulnerable. Timothy Spall (Secrets & Lies, Mr.Turner) is detestable, while Anjana Vasan offers a somewhat Wes Andersonesque performance which is not out of place. Favorite for Joanna Scanlan in the role of a friendly farmer who participates in the clandestine investigation.
The latter is just intriguing enough to keep one invested, but drags. We also get tired of blasphemous declamations. It’s not so much the profanity that’s funny, more the idea of compulsively sending it anonymously.
The conventional production benefits from the beautiful images of cinematographer Ben Davis and the lovely music of Isobel Waller-Bridge, Phœbe’s big sister, known for the series Fleabag and the most recent Indiana Jones.
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Comedy
Wicked Little Letters
(V.F.: Scandalously yours)
Thea Sharrock
With Olivia Coleman, Jessie Buckley, Timothy Spall
1h40