Fix: Historical Fantasy, Bold Women, Neighborly Disputes, Mysteries Involving Obscene Letters
Platform: Netflix
Netflix Summary:
This riotous comedy about a close-knit English town plagued by anonymous letters is “a deliciously sweary poison-pen mystery,” hails The Observer.
FYA Summary:
The town of Littlehampton is a quiet one, filled with pious people and petty disagreements. Until the day when Edith, one of the town’s most pious individuals, starts receiving letters filled with crass (and hilarious) obscenities. The letters, which shock Edith and her parents to their cores, are blamed on their next-door neighbor, Irish immigrant and “wild woman,” Rose. The police take up the investigation, but there isn’t much evidence to go on, other than the fact that Rose is as foul-mouthed as the letters. Then, others in the town start receiving them, too. But there are some folk in the town who believe Rose’s innocence, and a group led by Female Police Officer Gladys Moss works to clear her name before she’s sent to prison.
Familiar Faces:
Timothy Spall as Edward Swan, Olivia Colman as Edith Swan, and Gemma Jones as Victoria Swan
This combination of actors is as impressive as it looks. Spall, Colman, and Jones are all consummate professionals and very good at their jobs. Watching Peter Pettigrew, Queen Elizabeth, and Bridget Jones’s mum as a family was spectacular, even if Papa Swan is a total asshat, Mama Swan is a frightened, fragile creature, and Goldilocks Edith is more complicated (and perhaps messed up) than one might think at first blush. They felt like a true family, if a kind of awful one, and even when I wanted to punch Spall, shake Jones, and slap Colman, I still felt like I was watching royalty.
Jessie Buckley as Rose Gooding
I haven’t seen Buckley in anything else—I really must get around to watching Fargo one of these days—but according to her credits, she’s a pretty familiar face. And now that I’ve seen her as the brash, outspoken, do-as-she-pleases Rose, I’m all about watching more of her work. Rose is “a bit much” even for modern day society, so you can imagine how the people of 1920s Littlehampton reacted to her. And why she was singled out as the writer of the letters, although had she actually written the letters (spoiler alert), they would have likely been a whole lot worse.
Anjana Vasan as Gladys Moss
I also didn’t recognize Vasan, although she’s the star of FYA fave We Are Lady Parts. Her role as Female Police Officer Moss (yes, sadly, that Female modifier was part of her title) was a delight. At first, Moss doesn’t want to go against the will of her male counterparts/superiors, but she eventually relents because she realizes that the case against Rose is nothing more than circumstantial evidence and based on reputation alone. Vasan brings an emotional quality to the role, too, that makes you cheer for her even when she’s being stubbornly concerned with protocol. (As an aside, Gladys Moss was a real person, and the first female police officer in Sussex.)
Couch-Sharing Capability: Invite the Neighbors
Wicked Little Letters is a laugh-out-loud comedy with a lot of heart and a twist ending. The cast is superb, and it’s a great movie to share with friends. You could even ready a presentation for afterward about how it’s based on a true-life historical case. (You know, especially if your neighbors are like Edith (or, I suppose, Rose, if you’re boring) and you’d rather they not come over any more.)
(Ed. note: I do not think history is boring, so a presentation would not run me away. So maybe this would more be a test of if your neighbors are good eggs, rather than a way to run them off. Could be both, depending!)
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Ales All Around
Rose enjoys time at the local pub, and I doubt that said local pub had much in the way of fancy cocktails or local IPAs. So keep it simple. Or don’t drink at all. The Swans certainly wouldn’t.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: F**in’ Glorious
I was excited to see this movie hit Netflix, because I’d wanted to see it for a while. (I have a two-year-old; I don’t get to the movies much these days.) It’s equal parts funny and heartfelt, with a stellar cast. It’s a quiet kind of movie that might have escaped your notice, too, if you didn’t live in the UK where it was originally released. So use those streaming dollarbucks wisely and plan a viewing ASAP. And then come talk with me about it in the comments, ’cause I want to know what you think.
