Based on a remarkable true story, Thea Sharrock’s Wicked Little Letters is set in the 1920s English seaside town of Littlehampton and centers on two very different neighbors who become ensnarled in an outrageous scandal. Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) is a seemingly devout and proper woman, living with her elderly parents and under the thumb of her irascible and inflexible father (Timothy Spall). Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) is a rowdy, raucous and profane Irish single mother living with her daughter Nancy (Alisha Weir) and her latest lover, Bill (Malachi Kirby). The two women used to be friends but had a falling out.
As the film opens, Edith has already received close to two dozen vulgar, anonymous letters debasing her. Everyone suspects Rose and the local police arrest her. A lunatic trial ensues, and the crazy ante is raised when more letters begin to flood the mailboxes of the locals and a group of women, including Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), set out to discover the real truth behind the “wicked little letters.”
Both Oscar-winner Colman and Oscar-nominee Buckley immerse themselves in their roles as neighbors who become friends who become nemeses. This is the second filmic collaboration as they both appeared in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 2021 directorial debut, The Lost Daughter. Since they played the same character at different ages, they shared no screen time, but became fast friends.
Both actors have successfully volleyed from stage to screen to TV/Streaming and have been recognized with a slew of awards.
Colman is the recipient of 2 Emmys, 4 BAFTAs and 3 Golden Globes. She won a Best Actress Academy Award for playing Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos’s acclaimed gem, The Favourite (2018) and was subsequently nominated for 2 more Oscars for The Father (2020) and The Lost Daughter (2021). The latter film brought Buckley her nomination in the Supporting Actress category. Last year she won the Olivier Award for playing Sally Bowles on the West End in Cabaret.
Awards Daily had the absolute pleasure of zoom-chatting with both Colman and Buckley about their new film, their respective careers and…Miley Cyrus!
Sony Pictures Classics will release Wicked Little Letters in the U.S. on March 29, 2024.
