Wicked Little Letters

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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“A word is dead/
When it is said/
Some say/
I say it just/
Begins to live/
That day.”

So said Emily Dickinson.

A British movie titled “Wicked Little Letters” goes at great length to prove that point.

Based on an actual event that occurred in the 1920s, the film is directed by Thea Sharrock and written by Jonny Sweet. It’s billed as a black comedy, but if you were one of the participants you might not be laughing.

Straight-laced Edith Swan lives in Littlehampton with her strict father and weak mother. She starts getting anonymous letters filled with profanity. Her foul-mouthed Irish neighbor, a single mother named Rose, falls under suspicion and eventually gets sent to jail.

The police superintendent believes Emily’s father’s accusation that Rose is guilty, but others in their circle are not so sure.

A woman police officer suspects Emily herself of writing the letters, but Gladys’s superiors warn her off the case. Nonetheless, she (along with some supporters) decide to lay a trap for Emily, a connivance involving postage stamps and invisible ink and an approaching trial date.

“Knives Out” it ain’t. But I promise you will like it anyway.

“Wicked Little Letters” is showing at the Tropic.

Oscar-winner Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”) portrays Emily Swan. Jessie Buckley (“Chernobyl”) plays beset-upon Rose. And Anjana Vasan (TV’s “Black Mirror”) is cast as the sympathetic police officer, Gladys.

Colman and Buckley had worked together before, co-starring in Netflix’s “The Lost Daughter.” They became fast friends.

Colman says, “Well, I remember reading Jonny’s script and loving that it’s a real story and it had these two women in the 1920s swearing at each other like this. A lot of it is taken from the real letters. And I wanted to work with Jessie. Because we adore each other – well, I’ll say that, she might say something else! But to have this much fun and swear at each other – you can get too serious about work. Every now and then you need to do something where you just know you’re going to have a good time.”

You will remember Olivia Colman from such acclaimed TV series as “Broadchurch” and “The Crown.” Currently, you can catch her in “Wonka.”

Buckley added, “I have sworn all my life. Being an Irish woman, you are kind of born swearing and it’s so enjoyable. So to actually get to give it a good go, to be able to swear for Ireland and for Britain was just brilliant!.”

Olivia Colman wraps it up: “They’ve taken these old-fashioned insults and made it even more ludicrous. We giggled a lot.”

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com