WICKED LITTLE LETTERS
WICKED LITTLE LETTERS
God-fearing Edith is inundated with vulgar letters. Her family and the police immediately see the prime suspect in Irish immigrant Rose. The single mother, with the help of a policewoman, undertakes a private investigation to restore her good name.
Is it appropriate for women to use such foul language that would make your ears burn? Thea Sharrock, in WICKED LITTLE LETTERS, challenges traditional standards for female characters and allows them to express their frustrations in a very vulgar manner.
In the internet age, trolling is much easier, but human envy sees no obstacles to a longer communication route, as evidenced by an anonymous sender of abusive letters from Littlehampton.
His victim is the pious Edith (Olivia Colman) living under the same roof with her father (Timothy Spall), who associates Christian mercy only with biblical parables, and her frightened mother (Gemma Jones). In keeping with the preemptive bias, the most sensible suspect is Rose (Jessie Buckley), an Irish immigrant with a deep disregard for English morals.
The police station, dominated by chauvinistic officers, quickly solves the investigation and arrests the woman, putting her daughter's fate in question. Women police officer Gladys (Anjana Vasan) is not a fan of the uncouth Irish woman, but she defies the patriarchal hierarchy and resolves to get to the truth.
Sharrock endows her characters with sympathy and pokes fun at the absurdities that exist in society. Although the story she adapts takes place in the 1920s, it is hard not to see WICKED LITTLE LETTERS as a mirror highlighting the vices of modern man. Beneath the layer of classic British humour is a commentary on double standards, on public opinion built on xenophobia and, ultimately, on violence rooted in religious traditions.
Michał Sołtysek
