Wicked Little Letters star Olivia Colman has been talking about the freeing feeling of swearing.
The foul-mouthed film from director Thea Sharrock is inspired by a real-life 1920s scandal involving hilariously insulting letters.
Penned by Jonny Sweet, this black comedy follows uptight Edith Swan (Colman), who starts receiving anonymous letters that she believes are from her younger, unmarried neighbour Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley).
Ahead of the film's release, the cast chatted with Digital Spy about the liberating power of swearing, with both Colman and Buckley swearing by the thrill of dropping an F-bomb or two.
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"You are told from quite a young age that it's naughty, but it's not hurting anyone, unless you are directing it at someone.
"Actually, the whole point of this is it is hurting people, isn't it?" Colman said of swearing in the movie, to which Buckley replied: "But it's only make believe!"
"It is a release," Colman admitted.
"If you were to stand on top of a hill and shout whatever you want to shout, you feel so much lighter. If you've ever punched a punchbag, you feel great afterwards. It's cathartic.
"I think they're useful words that can express how you feel in a way that other words can't. Succinctly, and quickly. I love swearing."
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"Yeah, everyone should have a good swear," Buckley agreed.
Colman did clarify she "almost never" swears in anger, though an occasional swearword can make it into her everyday talk.
"I'm not a very angry person, but in the everyday it's like: 'Oh, f**k it.' It's nice," she said.
Edith's hidden naughty side is what attracted Colman to the role, the star explained.
"I loved the role of Edith. I couldn't play Rose anyway, because she was younger. Edith was just fun," she said.
"I loved the two sides of her: the sort of really pious and Christian, and then the foul mouth. That release at the end for her, I thought that would be fun to play."
Cast for the film is rounded out by Killing Eve's Anjana Vasan, Slow Horses' Joanna Scanlan and Fleabag's Hugh Skinner, as well as Gemma Jones, Malachi Kirby, Lolly Adefope, Eileen Atkins and Timothy Spall — who have considerably less swearing screen time compared with the two leads.
"It's just magic when they're together," Vasan said of Colman and Buckley, here reuniting after Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter.
"They are friends in real life, and they have a beautiful chemistry that translates on screen. I think it's explosive when they come together."
As for Spall, he highlighted the hypocrisy of Colman's character, who points her finger at Rose because the younger woman doesn't comply with societal norms.
"What was interesting - Edith, Olivia's character, supposedly has right on her side. So everybody assumes she's okay," Spall said.
"And everybody just makes assumptions that because Jessie's character is in a relationship unmarried she must be hateful, she must be doing it.
"But the whole thing is about prejudices, and received wisdom about certain facts based on clichés. And this is about a society that is guilty of vast hypocrisy right across the board. And then the swearing is all the steam coming out of this hypocrisy."
Wicked Little Letters is released in UK theatres on February 23.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas.
Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK.
She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.
Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor.
