Once again, the original title proves more telling: “Wicked little Letters” sums up the film, in theaters this Wednesday, much better than the banal “Scandalously yours” .
Because it is indeed letters that are at issue in this British comedy: missives received, in 1920, in a small English coastal town by the very prudish Edith, a local figure and daughter of a notable from a very straddling conventions and very orthodox language.
However, the clan is not going to be disappointed: the letters, received daily or almost daily by Edith, are full of flowery insults - Edith is thus treated as a "perfidious old slut", a "dirty shitty rogue", and so on. ... Soon, the anonymous writings will turn to the denunciation of various unhealthy behaviors and other treacheries of the villagers.
Suspicions quickly fall on one of her neighbors, Rose, recently arrived from Ireland, a widow and mother raising her child alone even though she is in a relationship.
Because she doesn't have her tongue in her pocket, constantly swears like a carter, and comes across as a vulgar and frivolous girl - her spectacular outings to the local pub, where she tends to dish out blows a little too easily. ball to the men who bother him, tend to shake up the community -, between laughter and rejections.
A true story that once shook the United Kingdom
But a local police officer, unfortunately little listened to by her superiors because she has a double "defect" in their eyes - she is a beginner and of Indian origin, quickly suspects the dirty trick and leads the investigation to exonerate Rose who, for her part, does nothing to ease up and continues to sink.
A resounding trial follows, which will lead to a huge surprise...
A fantastic treatise on vulgarities that are difficult to imagine, taken, it is hard to believe, from a true story that once shook the United Kingdom, “Scandalously Yours”, as hilarious as it is moving, doubles as a well-felt social chronicle on British customs of the time.
If this dramatic comedy relies on an impeccable casting for its supporting roles, where Timothy Spall and Anjana Vasan
(who dynamited the final
season of the series “Killing Eve”
) shine in particular,
it is its two headliners who , unleashed, give all its salt to the film.
The great Olivia Colman (Edith), so popular in particular in the series “The Crown” or “The Favorite”, seems to be enjoying herself here against the grain as a frightened and offended old maid.
Opposite her, the formidable Jessie Buckley (Rose), who left her mark on the “Chernobyl” series and established herself in the remarkable “Wild Rose”, finds a role suited to her, the head of a Turk from a conformist village who multiplies the bloodshed and the rants.
The opposition between these two sparks and ends in fireworks: laughter cramps guaranteed!
Editor's note:
4/5
“Scandalously yours”,
British drama comedy by Thea Sharrock, with Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Timothy Spall... 1h41.