'Wicked Little Letters' a frothy showcase for Colman, Buckley as neighbors at war

Olivia Colman was nominated for best actress for 2021’s searing drama “The Lost Daughter” and Jessie Buckley received a best supporting actress nod for the same film, but they never shared any screen time because they were playing the same troubled and haunted character at different points along the timeline. Now these two brilliant and endlessly versatile actors are literally living next door to one another and playing altogether different notes in the frothy period-piece comedy “Wicked Little Letters,” which is so cheerfully cheeky and so, so British that you’ll have to resist the urge to put the kettle on.

Directed with low-key style by Thea Sharrock, with a crisp screenplay by Jonny Sweet, “Wicked Little Letters” is set in the small English village of Littlehampton, where everybody knows everyone else’s business — but nobody knows who is sending a series of shocking, obscenity-riddled, unspeakably disturbing “poison pen” notes to Colman’s Edith Swan, a deeply religious and relentlessly pious woman who lives with her kind wallflower of a mother (Gemma Jones) and her uptight and iron-fisted and quite awful father (Timothy Spall).

The letters are basically a case of Early 20th Century trolling, and suspicion immediately falls on Edith’s frenemy: one Rose Gooding (Buckley), a loud, hard-drinking immigrant war widow from Ireland who lives next door with her young daughter Nancy (Alisha Weir) and can often be heard enjoying the company of her boyfriend Bill (Malachi Kirby). Edith and Rose were initially friendly, but the relationship grew frosty. Now, Edith has convinced the local chief constable (Paul Chahidi) that Rose must be the culprit. Or is she?

A word about Jessie Buckley’s performance as Rose. It’s big. I mean, BIG. Whether Rose is holding court and demonstrating her dart-throwing prowess at the local pub or flipping up her skirt to show her naked arse to pursuing police or delivering foul-mouthed and flowery monologues, Buckley holds nothing back. It’s showy work and it might come across as over-the-top, but I loved it, and I loved the way Rose brings out the worst, or maybe it’s the best, in her rival Edith.

The chief delight in “Wicked Little Letters” is watching Colman and Buckley in action; it’s really not much of a mystery, as the culprit is revealed to us long before the townsfolk catch on.

Like “The Full Monty” and “Calendar Girls” and “Military Wives,” this is one of those droll ensemble pieces where nearly everyone is a colorful character and many of the supporting players exist just to have a showcase moment or two. Among the standouts is Anjana Vasan, who delivers a scene-stealing performance as PC Gladys Moss, who is the first female police officer in West Sussex and conducts her own investigation into the case, much to the dismay of the male hierarchy.

And how about this: “Wicked Little Letters” is based on a true story, and Gladys Moss was a real person who worked this case. No doubt this is a quite fanciful telling of the tale, but it’s also kinda great that there’s a plaque in a Sussex police station honoring Gladys and her fine work.