KERRY-BORN ACTRESS Jessie Buckley is to reunite with her The Lost Daughter co-star Olivia Colman on brand new comedy film Wicked Little Letters.
Having both received Oscar nominations for their roles in The Lost Daughter, the film will see the in-demand Irish star and British acting royalty play very different neighbours who come together to solve a mystery.
Based on a real story, Deadline reports that Buckley will play fiery Rose Gooding who has little in common with the pious Edith Swan (Colman) aside from them being neighbours in the seaside town of Littlehampton in the 1920s.
One day, Edith and others in the town start receiving scandalous letters containing profanity, and Rose becomes the prime suspect. As Rose stands to lose her freedom and custody of her daughter, the local police officer, Gladys Moss, begins to think something is amiss.
With a group of resourceful women, Gladys seeks to solve the mystery, vindicate Rose and catch the real writer of the letters.
Thea Sharrock, director of romance film Me Before You, is to direct the flick, with British actor and writer Jonny Sweet to pen the script.
Filming is set to begin in autumn, on location in the UK.
Director Thea Sharrock commented:
“Wicked Little Letters is a divine comedy with a profoundly moving core. Hilarious, witty, joyous and based on a true story as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. Watching this film will be like hitting your funny bone; when the tears of pain and laughter are impossible to separate.
"Olivia Colman is hilarious, brilliant and brave. In the part of Edith, she will continue to show her extraordinary dexterity as an actor with her unique ability to make us fall in love with her. In Jessie Buckley we have cast the actress everybody wants to see; her ferociously strong energy will explode the character of Rose onto our screens. Following The Lost Daughter our film reunites two of the world’s most exciting, accessible, fun and wild actresses.”
Producers Olivia Colman and Ed Sinclair expanded:
“Jonny Sweet’s script had us hooked from page one. He has a superb eye for ridiculousness and pomposity in his characters, and his background as a stand-up comic lends a real zing to his writing. We are thrilled to have Thea Sharrock on board to direct, a filmmaker who will allow our script and characters to fly. In Wicked Little Letters there’s a compelling and modern sensibility bubbling below the recognisable and highly cinematic surface of post-First World War England, which ultimately delivers a satisfying and relevant dramatic gut-punch.”
The team behind Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is producing, as is Colman and Ed Sinclair's South Of The River Pictures.
Three Billboards garnered praise at the 2018 Oscars, receiving seven awards including Best Picture and Bests Actress for Frances McDormand, with those involved in Wicked Little Letters hoping for a similar fate.
