Wicked Little Letters
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: March 29, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
20
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Screen DailyWendy IdeSep 10, 2023
Whether or not there’s a factual basis to the story, it’s undeniably an absolute blast. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicKaely MonahanApr 5, 2024
Though that might not sound like the makings of a comedy, it is. And a really funny one, too. Read full review
83
Original-CinLiz BraunApr 4, 2024
Directed by Thea Sharrock and written by Jonny Sweet, Wicked Little Letters is a broad and funny period piece, and it sparkles with sharp dialogue. It’s also a little heartbreaking in its depiction of the many ways women are judged, shamed, and kept down by the concerted efforts of society in general. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyMar 1, 2024
If there are no other pleasures to Wicked Little Letters beyond the tome’s worth of expletives launched by Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, then so be it. That’s plenty enough to sustain this witty, joyously written piece of forgotten history, scripted by comedian Jonny Sweet. Read full review
80
Vanity FairEsther ZuckermanSep 14, 2023
Ultimately, Wicked Little Letters turns out to be not much of a whodunnit—frankly, you can probably guess now and get it right. But the lack of a real mystery doesn't really matter when Buckley and Colman are as delightful to watch as they are in this film. Read full review
75
Washington PostTy BurrApr 4, 2024
Wicked Little Letters manages the paradoxical trick of being both broadly played and finely acted, the first due to a director intent on underlining every action with a heavy Sharpie and the second to a cast that colors in the outlines of their characters with finesse, depth and life. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 2, 2024
Wicked Little Letters is for people who like British comedy, but also for people who think British comedies are too refined for their taste. This one isn’t. It’s crude and outrageous enough to appeal to modern American audiences. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperApr 2, 2024
The chief delight in “Wicked Little Letters” is watching Colman and Buckley in action. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMar 29, 2024
Wicked Little Letters is a really effective British mystery, spiked with the comedy of a real caper, with sneaky people bicycling down lanes, or literally crouching in the bushes staring at a mailbox. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 27, 2024
In the hands of director Thea Sharrock, screenwriter Jonny Sweet and a sparkling cast, it becomes a parable on shifting social mores, sexism, morality confused with legality and women’s suffrage. It’s a vulgar hoot. Read full review
70
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Johanna SchnellerApr 4, 2024
It’s saved, first by strong performances from Buckley, always effortlessly believable, and Colman, expert at laying bare the clammy soul of easily dismissible women. And second, by the letters themselves. Read full review
70
ColliderAidan KelleyMar 31, 2024
Ultimately, Wicked Little Letters is a delightful comedy worth writing home about (just be sure to watch your language when you do). Read full review
70
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonMar 28, 2024
The movie is full of goofy side characters and one-liners, yet elevated occasionally to genuine complexity by Colman and Buckley, who are consistently the best thing about any movie they’re in. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneDavid FearMar 27, 2024
Wicked may take great pains to recreate the musty Britain of the 1920s, but don’t be fooled by the cloche hats and frilly frocks. The female rage that powers every frame of this comedy didn’t go away when that decade ended. It’s regrettably more recognizable and still more righteous today one century later. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesApr 3, 2024
The title seems engineered to ride the tailwind of a Liane Moriarty suspense, but constitutionally, Wicked Little Letters is more of a cozy British mystery goosed with eye-popping profanity. Read full review
67
The PlaylistAnkit JhunjhunwalaSep 17, 2023
Even with the real-life nature of the narrative, this is decidedly a minor tale with minimal stakes. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliApr 8, 2024
The performances of Buckley and Colman rescue much of what’s salvageable in the narrative and there’s some interest in how the truth will be revealed but the movie isn’t as funny as it needs to be for the satirical elements to work. Read full review
60
Screen RantTommy LethbridgeMar 29, 2024
As each diatribe utilizes ever-more inventive cursing, the movie increasingly feels like a missed opportunity. Read full review
60
ABC NewsPeter TraversMar 29, 2024
Mean tweets 1920 version: The incomparable Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley turn a flimsy script about poison pen letters that turn friends against each other into irresistible fun. Any resemblance to today’s internet trolling is purely intentional. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeFeb 21, 2024
Sadly, the film runs out of steam as it develops into a detective story with a solution that will surprise nobody. Read full review
60
EmpireLaura VenningFeb 19, 2024
Repetitive insults do most of the heavy lifting for this comedy, but any time spent with actors as skilled as Colman and Buckley is time enjoyably spent. Read full review
60
Total FilmJames MottramFeb 14, 2024
Throughout, there’s a tendency to descend into farce, which yields laughs, but ultimately hampers these Letters’ potential to say something more profound. Read full review
60
Time OutHelen O'HaraFeb 13, 2024
The two gifted comedic actresses give their characters depth while also finding moments of lightness that stop the drama from ever bringing the pace down too much. It makes for a wickedly funny spin on the safe old British period drama. Read full review
58
IndieWireJourdain SearlesSep 14, 2023
As the film’s themes announce themselves again and again, it weakens the mystery. The film seems to be yelling at us who the culprit is while hoping we remain engaged by mugging and hijinks alone. Read full review
55
Paste MagazineChloe WalkerMar 4, 2024
The movie’s messages about not treating women as second-class citizens and the power of female solidarity are all delivered with convincing sincerity, yet they are also as dated as the 1920s setting—it feels like Wicked Little Letters is fighting a battle that was won decades ago. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyApr 2, 2024
There are many complaints to be made about “Wicked Little Letters” — its forced humor, its even more forced moral lessons, its tonal unevenness (flat-footed jokiness here, cheap sentimentality there) — but chief among them is wasting Buckley. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleApr 2, 2024
The blessing is that Buckley, Colman, Spall and Vasan are expert enough that dimensional character work still peeks through the vibe of cookie-cutter idiosyncrasy. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Nicholas QuahMar 29, 2024
Wicked Little Letters delights in its naughtiness, but it really should’ve embraced its perversion. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 25, 2023
Wicked Little Letters swerves between comedy and tragedy without ever hitting its stride. The movie is at its best when it doesn’t strain to turn every moment into a joke, instead letting the story breathe a bit. Read full review
50
The Film StageJordan RaupSep 12, 2023
This is the kind of comedy one imagines will only earn a few chuckles when it eventually arrives on a streaming platform. Read full review
50
The Daily BeastNick Schager
Were it not for the participation of Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, it would be an insufferable groaner rather than merely an inoffensive one. Read full review
40
TimeStephanie ZacharekApr 1, 2024
It may have been conceived as the kind of classy-but-ribald entertainment that might lure older moviegoers back to theaters. But insulting their intelligence probably isn’t the way to go. Read full review
40
IGNSiddhant AdlakhaMar 29, 2024
Olivia Colman is a diamond in the rough, but even she can’t rescue a movie this flat and uninteresting. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithMar 28, 2024
The audience is left to feel sorry for characters we’re meant to find amusingly contemptible and to groan at the way the writing keeps taking potshots at the most obvious targets. When the film thinks it’s being wicked, it’s closer to being trite. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinFeb 22, 2024
When the culprit is revealed to the audience after an hour or so, and the film attempts to dig into the psychology behind their reign of terror, it quickly finds itself out of its depth. Read full review
40
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsFeb 22, 2024
What’s sad about the film is that the feather-light comic tone seems to preclude any deeper insight into what are, on paper, a set of potentially fascinating and psychologically deep characters. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 22, 2024
It’s a depressing seaside postcard of a film. Read full review
20
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 10, 2023
There’s something equally impressive and depressing about the squandered potential of misfiring period comedy Wicked Little Letters, a joyless waste of cast, premise and setting. Read full review
More From This Movie

58 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL