Wicked Little Letters is a sweary comedy that brings a bizarre true story from 20th-century England to the big screen, and it's now available to watch in US theaters.
This new movie transports us back in time to the picturesque seaside town of Littlehampton which found itself in the public eye after its residents began receiving foul-mouthed poison-pen letters from an anonymous sender. The main recipient was Edith Swan (Olivia Colman), a holier-than-thou woman who found herself being called all manner of colorful insults in the mystery missives.
The movie depicts the hunt to find the sweary scribe behind the letters and turns it into a hilarious comedy that pits two neighbors (and former friends) against one another. Here's everything you need to know about Wicked Little Letters.
Wicked Little Letters release date and how to watch
Wicked Little Letters is now in theaters. The movie started airing in the UK first, releasing on Friday, February 23.
In the US, the movie had a limited release on Friday, March 29, and is now screening nationwide after releasing on Friday, April 5. The movie originally premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
Wicked Little Letters reviews
As of our latest update, Wicked Little Letters has a 78% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes from more than 112 reviews.
In our four-star Wicked Little Letters review, we called the movie 'a stella sharp-tongued comedy elevated by its top-tier cast'.
Variety's Peter Debruge said of the movie: "In Sharrock’s hands, “Wicked Little Letters” is an entertaining account of what feels like a primitive form of today’s online flame wars, where people take sides as commenters openly disparage one another."
Total Film rated the movie 3/5 and highlighted the "uniformly excellent cast", summing the flick up as "an ultimately rather cosy tale of British eccentricity, enlivened by a superb cast".
Wicked Little Letters cast
The Lost Daughter co-stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley lead the cast of Wicked Little Letters as Edith Swan and Rose Gooding, respectively.
Edith is a deeply conservative woman who still lives with her parents, and she's the recipient of several of the titular missives. Rose, meanwhile, is the complete opposite: she's a rowdy and foul-mouth Irish migrant whom many suspect simply must be the sweary scribe.
The third most important character is Anjana Vasan (We Are Lady Parts), who stars as Woman Police Officer Gladys Moss, who launches her own investigation into the entire ordeal, suspecting that the real culprit could be someone else entirely.
In addition, the Wicked Little Letters cast also includes:
- Joanna Scanlan as Ann
- Gemma Jones as Victoria Swan
- Timothy Spall as Edward Swan
- Malachi Kirby as Bill
- Eileen Atkins as Mabel
- Lolly Adefope Kate
- Paul Chahidi as Chief Constable Spedding
- Hugh Skinner as Constable Papperwick
Wicked Little Letters plot
As we mentioned, Wicked Little Letters brings the mystery of the Littlehampton Letters to life, and the search for the true culprit who's been terrorizing the town.
Studiocanal's full summary reads: "A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a dark and absurd scandal in this riotous mystery comedy. Based on a stranger-than-fiction true story, Wicked Little Letters follows two neighbours: deeply conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley).
"When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, foulmouthed Rose is charged with the crime. The anonymous letters prompt a national uproar, and a trial ensues. 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 may not be the culprit after all."
Is there a Wicked Little Letters trailer?
The Wicked Little Letters trailer sets up the mystery of the obscene poison-pen letters, without managing to reveal most of the filthy language that they actually contain. Check it out below:
Studio Canal has also put together a short video of the cast and crew discussing the bizarre true story behind the movie and how they reacted to it, which we've embedded below:
Thea Sharrock movies
Thea Sharrock is an English firm and theatre director. She notably became the youngest artistic director in British theatre back in 2001 when she took over London's Southwark Playhouse and has worked with plenty of top stars over the years. She made her feature film debut in 2016; Wicked Little Letters is her third movie.
- Me Before You (2016)
- The One and Only Ivan (2020)
- Wicked Little Letters (2024)
- The Beautiful Game (releasing later in 2024)
Wicked Little Letters filming locations
Although the movie dramatizes the Littlehampton Letters scandal and some scenes were shot there, a lot Wicked Little Letters was actually filmed in another West Sussex town: Arundel.
The Visit Arundel website has an entire page dedicated to the movie's filming locations, including a map indicating relevant settings to help you retrace Edith and Rose's footsteps around the town if you decide to plan a visit!
