It is rare to see an Oscar winner scream "f***-face" at the top of her lungs while wearing a 1920s floral dress, but that is basically the entry fee for Wicked Little Letters. When the film dropped, it wasn't just the swearing that caught people off guard. It was the fact that the cast of Wicked Little Letters managed to take a bizarre, footnote-in-history scandal and turn it into something that feels surprisingly modern. We're talking about the real-life "Littlehampton Libels" of the 1920s. People were actually getting arrested for sending anonymous, profanity-laced mail. Honestly, if you saw the letters today, you’d think it was a standard Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter).
The movie lives or dies on its ensemble. Without the specific chemistry between Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, this would have just been another stuffy British period piece that you’d fall asleep to on a Sunday afternoon. Instead, we get a chaotic, vibrant, and deeply uncomfortable look at repression.
The Powerhouse Duo: Colman and Buckley
You can't talk about the cast of Wicked Little Letters without starting at the top. Olivia Colman plays Edith Swan. Edith is the kind of woman who looks like she’s never had a stray thought in her life. She’s pious. She’s quiet. She lives with her overbearing father and spends her days being "good." Colman is a master at this. She has this way of making her face look like a cracked porcelain doll—one minute she’s smiling, and the next, you see the absolute terror and rage simmering underneath. It’s a performance of stifled breath and rigid posture.
Then you have Jessie Buckley as Rose Gooding.
Rose is the polar opposite. She’s an Irish migrant, a single mother, and she has a mouth that would make a sailor blush. Buckley plays her with this infectious, rowdy energy. She’s the person at the party who accidentally breaks a lamp but then makes everyone laugh so hard they don't care. The friction between these two is the entire engine of the movie.
What’s interesting about the cast of Wicked Little Letters is how they handle the power dynamic. In most movies, the "loud" person is the one in control. Here? Buckley’s Rose is the vulnerable one because she doesn't fit in. Society is already looking for a reason to throw her out, and a few anonymous letters filled with "filthy" language provide the perfect excuse.
Timothy Spall as the Ultimate Villain
If you grew up watching Harry Potter, you know Timothy Spall can do "slimy" better than almost anyone. In this film, he plays Edward Swan, Edith’s father. He isn't a villain in the sense that he’s trying to take over the world. He’s a villain because he’s a suffocating, patriarchal nightmare. He treats his grown daughter like a child and his wife like furniture.
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Spall’s performance is vital because it explains why the letters exist in the first place. You see him on screen and you immediately understand the pressure cooker that is the Swan household. His presence makes the vulgarity of the letters feel like a necessary explosion. Without a strong antagonist like Spall, the mystery wouldn't have any stakes. You need to hate him to care about what happens to Edith and Rose.
The Supporting Players Who Steal the Show
While the big names get the posters, the rest of the cast of Wicked Little Letters fills out the town of Littlehampton with such specific, weird energy.
Anjana Vasan plays Gladys Moss, the "woman police officer" (as she’s mockingly called). She’s basically the only person in the entire town with a functioning brain. Vasan plays Gladys with a quiet, observant stoicism. She’s the audience surrogate. She’s watching the madness unfold and realizing that the math doesn't add up. Her performance is a great contrast to the high-decibel shouting matches happening elsewhere.
Then there’s the "Postcards" group—the neighborhood women who eventually join forces.
- Joanna Scanlan (who was brilliant in After Love) brings a grounded, slightly cynical humor.
- Lolly Adefope and Eileen Atkins round out a group that feels like a real community.
They aren't just background actors; they represent the collective conscience of the town. Watching these women slowly realize that the "respectable" members of society are often the most unhinged is one of the film’s greatest joys.
Why This Specific Cast Matters for the History
The real Littlehampton Libels were messy. The letters weren't just "bad words." They were targeted strikes against people's reputations in a time when reputation was everything. The cast of Wicked Little Letters had to balance the comedy of the profanity with the reality that these women were facing actual prison time.
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If Buckley played Rose as too much of a victim, the comedy would fail.
If Colman played Edith as too much of a caricature, the mystery would be obvious from minute one.
The nuance is what keeps you guessing—or at least, what keeps you invested even if you’ve already Googled the real story. It’s a study in how repression manifests. When you aren't allowed to speak your mind, that energy has to go somewhere. Sometimes, it goes into a letter addressed to your neighbor, calling them things that would get this article banned from Google if I typed them out.
The "Hidden" Comedy of the Ensemble
There is a specific scene where the women are discussing the contents of the letters. It’s a masterclass in ensemble acting. You have the older generation, played by Atkins, reacting with a mix of horror and secret fascination. You have Vasan trying to maintain professional distance while being surrounded by chaos.
The movie thrives on the "cringe" factor. It’s the comedy of manners gone horribly wrong. Most British period dramas are about what people don't say. This one is about the absolute worst things people can say. The cast of Wicked Little Letters leans into that discomfort. They don't wink at the camera. They play it straight, which makes the absurdity even funnier.
How the Actors Handled the Script's Profanity
Screenwriter Jonny Sweet didn't hold back. The letters used in the film are largely based on the actual historical documents. When you hear these actors—people you usually see in "prestige" dramas—hurling these insults, it feels transgressive.
Buckley has mentioned in interviews that the set was actually quite lighthearted despite the heavy themes of police bias and domestic abuse. That's the trick, isn't it? If the cast doesn't have chemistry, a movie like this feels like a series of sketches. But because this group feels like they’ve lived in this seaside town for decades, the insults feel personal. They feel lived-in.
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Key Takeaways from the Performances
- Olivia Colman proves again that she is the queen of "repressed rage."
- Jessie Buckley provides the heart, showing that being "unlikeable" by society's standards is often a survival mechanism.
- Anjana Vasan holds the narrative together, giving the audience a grounded perspective in a sea of histrionics.
- Timothy Spall reminds us that the scariest villains don't wear capes; they wear cardigans and sit at the head of the dinner table.
The Legacy of the Real Littlehampton Scandal
When you look at the cast of Wicked Little Letters, you’re looking at a group of actors who took a tabloid sensation from a century ago and made it relevant. We live in an age of anonymous internet comments. We live in a time where people hide behind screens (or in this case, stationery) to vent their frustrations.
The film suggests that the "good old days" were just as filthy and complicated as today. It just took a bit longer for the mail to arrive. By casting such high-caliber actors, director Thea Sharrock ensured that the movie wouldn't be dismissed as a mere "potty-mouth" comedy. It’s a legitimate character study about the lengths people will go to when they feel powerless.
Final Steps for the Curious Viewer
If you’ve watched the film and found yourself fascinated by the cast of Wicked Little Letters, your next move shouldn't just be looking up their filmographies. You should actually dig into the historical record of the Swan and Gooding case.
- Read the actual letters: Many are archived and show that the film actually toned down some of the more creative insults.
- Watch the cast's other collaborations: Buckley and Colman have a history of playing complex women (look at The Lost Daughter for a very different vibe).
- Explore the geography: Littlehampton is a real place, and much of the film’s charm comes from its specific, cramped, seaside atmosphere.
The true takeaway from this movie isn't just that swearing is funny. It’s that the people we think we know—the "Ediths" of the world—are often the ones with the most to hide. And the "Roses," the ones who scream and shout and live loudly? They’re usually just trying to survive the quiet ones.
Check out the behind-the-scenes features if you can. Seeing the cast try to get through a take without laughing at the absurd insults is worth the price of admission alone. It’s a reminder that even in a story about malice and libel, there’s a strange kind of joy in finally saying exactly what you think.