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‘Wicked Little Letters’ Review: Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley Play Sworn Enemies in Saucy Libel-Case Satire

Published

2 years ago

January 6, 2024

‘Wicked Little Letters’ Review: Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley Play Sworn Enemies in Saucy Libel-Case Satire

A hundred years ago, before email and social media found ways to slap us in the face with unsolicited obscenity on a daily basis, the quiet English town of Littlehampton was scandalized by an outburst of poison pen letters — a nasty case of epistolary terrorism that today might be lumped under the heading of “trolling.” Someone with lovely penmanship and a very salty vocabulary dashed off dozens (if not hundreds) of blisteringly offensive notes to members of the seaside community, igniting a police investigation and a series of trials breathlessly covered by the local press, then largely forgotten for almost a century.

A bawdy black comedy that isn’t nearly as “outrageous” as it would have you believe, “Wicked Little Letters” offers a tongue-in-cheek retelling of those events for the Merchant Ivory set. Titillating profanity aside, it’s a relatively tame critique of 1920s gender dynamics, focusing on the two women at the center of the affair — a sour-puss spinster named Edith Swan, who received the bulk of the harassment, and her disruptive Irish neighbor, Rose Gooding, whom she accused of sending the raunchy missives — as well as the female detective responsible for untangling the mystery.

It doesn’t take much of a detective to realize that adds up to something fairly rare: a period film with three substantial leading roles for women, set (in the words of the local priest) at “a time when morality is threatened and women everywhere are losing their decorum.” Small wonder, then, that director Thea Sharrock attracted such a strong cast.

Edith is played by Olivia Colman with an exaggerated piousness that tips toward cartoonish, while the part of force-of-nature Rose proves perfectly suited to “Wild Rose” star Jessie Buckley. As a single mom with a Black boyfriend (Malachi Kirby) who drinks and swears and makes love at all hours, Rose challenges the puritanical patriarchy to which her neighbors kowtow (in one scene, her “furious jumping” nearly dislodges the crucifix hanging from long-suffering Edith’s wall). The two characters could hardly be more different, and yet we’re told they were once best friends.

Edith lives at home with an insufferably strict father (Timothy Spall), who spouts off about women’s suffrage and other perceived threats to his authority, while Rose doesn’t hesitate to tell people what she thinks of them. For a time, Edith found a kind of vicarious satisfaction in Rose’s liberated attitude. But now that Edith imagines herself on the receiving end of Rose’s insults, she can abide it no longer. “She’s heinous,” Edith complains a bit too enthusiastically to the police, “and she’s what we feared would come after the war.” For their part, the authorities show an alarming lack of curiosity when presented with what seems like an open-and-shut case.

Only Gladys Moss (“We Are Lady Parts” vet Anjana Vasan) suspects otherwise, representing the weaker leg of the central trio. As Sussex’s first “woman police officer,” she’s confronted by sexism and racism every day on the job: Her male colleagues use the word “woman” the way they might “canine,” for example — as though astonished the opposite sex can be of any help in a professional setting — interrupting their locker-room banter to put Gladys in her place whenever possible. It’s an insufferable work dynamic, which Sharrock and screenwriter Jonny Sweet are none too subtle about calling out.

The movie feels very of-the-moment (almost frustratingly so) in its critique of religious hypocrisy and backward gender dynamics, and yet, one longs for a little more nuance in the clownish way these bigots and blowhards are depicted. In truth, the so-called “Littlehampton libels” built to a twist, which a decent contingent of the audience will surely see coming. The English courts of that time might not have taken handwriting analysis seriously, but the evidence is clear as day to our eyes. Plus, the culprit is hiding in plain sight.

Meanwhile, Edith seems to relish all the attention the indignity brings as the case drags on, collecting the newspaper articles written about the shame she’s suffered. (As her mother, Gemma Jones scolds Edith, lest she grow too prideful.) Who knew that enduring such abuse could turn this dowdy old maid into an unlikely local celebrity? Contained in the conflict between these two women is a deeper commentary about the media and how the public relishes a good scandal, rushing to judge with only a fraction of the facts. 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.

Ironically, however hurtful Edith and others found these personal attacks to be, they merely compounded the humiliation by going public with what had been written about them. Good that they did — for our sake, at least — as it’s a hoot to hear Armando Iannucci-caliber insults being lobbed in this conservative 1920s milieu. Amid all that bullying, it is free-spirited Rose who shows what dignity looks like, rising above the slander.

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World

Artemis II astronauts race to set a new distance record from Earth and behold the moon’s far side

Published

5 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Artemis II astronauts race to set a new distance record from Earth and behold the moon’s far side

HOUSTON (AP) — With the moon looming ever larger, the Artemis II astronauts raced to set a new distance record Monday from Earth on a lunar fly-around promising magnificent views of the far side never seen before by eye.

The six-hour flyby is the highlight of NASA’s first return to the moon since the Apollo era with three Americans and one Canadian — a step toward landing boot prints near the moon’s south pole in just two years.

A prize — and bragging rights — awaits Artemis II.

Less than an hour before kicking off the fly-around and intense lunar observations, the four astronauts were set to become the most distant humans in history, surpassing the distance record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.

Mission Control expected Artemis II to surpass that record by more than 4,100 miles (6,600 kilometers).

Artemis II is using the same maneuver that Apollo 13 did after its “Houston, we’ve had a problem” oxygen tank explosion wiped out any hope of a moon landing.

Known as a free-return lunar trajectory, this no-stopping-to-land route takes advantage of Earth and the moon’s gravity, reducing the need for fuel. It’s a celestial figure-eight that will put the astronauts on course for home, once they emerge from behind the moon Monday evening.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen were on track to pass as close as 4,070 miles (6,550 kilometers) to the moon, as their Orion capsule whips past it, hangs a U-turn and then heads back toward Earth. It will take them four days to get back, with a splashdown in the Pacific concluding their test flight on Friday.

Wiseman and his crew spent years studying lunar geography to prepare for the big event, adding solar eclipses to their repertoire during the past few weeks. By launching last Wednesday, they ensured themselves of a total solar eclipse from their vantage point behind the moon, courtesy of the cosmos.

Topping their science target list: Orientale Basin, a sprawling impact basin with three concentric rings, the outermost of which stretches nearly 600 miles (950 kilometers) across.

Other sightseeing goals: the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites from 1969 and 1971, respectively, as well as fringes of the south polar region, the preferred locale for future touchdowns. Farther afield, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn — not to mention Earth — will be visible.

Their moon mentor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of pictures.

“People all over the world connect with the moon. This is something that every single person on this planet can understand and connect with,” she said on the eve of the flyby, wearing eclipse earrings.

Artemis II is NASA’s first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for next year’s Artemis III, which will see another Orion crew practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culminating moon landing by two astronauts near the moon’s south pole will follow on Artemis IV in 2028.

While Artemis II may be taking Apollo 13’s path, it’s most reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanity’s first lunar visitors who orbited the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 and read from the Book of Genesis.

Glover said flying to the moon during Christianity’s Holy Week brought home for him “the beauty of creation.” Earth is an oasis amid “a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe” where humanity exists as one, he observed over the weekend.

“This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we’ve got to get through this together,” Glover said, clasping hands with his crewmates.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

World

Baby among 3 dead in holiday horror as Easter egg hunt turns deadly

Published

6 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Baby among 3 dead in holiday horror as Easter egg hunt turns deadly

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Three people were killed, including a 10-month-old girl, after high winds toppled a tree in Germany during an Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning, according to authorities.

Around 50 people from a nearby residential facility for new mothers, pregnant women and children were attending the egg hunt in a wooded area near the town of Satrupholm at about 11 a.m. when a 100-foot tree fell on top of them, police said in a statement.

Four people became pinned under the tree, police said.

DUCK-HUNTING TRIP IN NEW ORLEANS TURNS DEADLY UNTIL LAST-MINUTE PRAYER BRINGS MIRACLE

A fallen tree lies in a wooded area south-east of Flensburg, Germany, on Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Daniel Reinhardt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

First responders arrived at the scene and first began treating a 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl, but both died at the scene.

The woman’s 10-month-old daughter also later died at the hospital.

An 18-year-old woman sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital in a helicopter.

The residential facility is part of the state-funded child welfare system, supporting pregnant women and new mothers who need help, according to its website.

Police officers stand next to a fallen tree in a wooded area south-east of Flensburg, Germany, on Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Benjamin Nolte/dpa via AP)

Grief counselors were sent to the scene after the fatal incident on Sunday.

Pictures from the scene showed several Easter eggs scattered on the ground as two of the victims were seen covered in white sheets.

The German weather service had put the area under a high winds warning.

ONE DEAD AND DOZENS INJURED DURING PREGAME EVENT AT PERU SOCCER STADIUM

Rescue workers are on the scene after an accident in a wooded area south-east of Flensburg, Germany, on Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Benjamin Nolte/dpa via AP)

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Officials from the Schleswig-Holstein region, where the facility is located, said they were “deeply shaken” by the Easter tragedy.

“Our thoughts are with the family members of the dead, with the injured, and with everyone who had to experience this terrible occurrence,” regional Governor Daniel Günther, Interior Minister Magdalena Finke, and Youth and Families Minister Aminata Touré said in a joint statement to the dpa news agency.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

World

Jet fuel crisis: Rationing triggered at four airports in Italy

Published

7 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Four northern Italian airports introduce restrictions on jet fuel due to the energy crisis, with priority given to long-haul and medical flights. Meanwhile, Ryanair has warned that if the Iran war continues, summer flights are at risk across Europe.