While this film is absolutely hilarious in parts, it doesn't manage to fall under the category of comedy. Nor does it do that good a job with its historical accurancy.
The real life story of the Littlehampton libel letters is a much more complex one, a darker tale full of flawed, unlikeable characters. The movie version soft-pedals certain events in order to tell a story about the oppression of women at this certain time in Britain. The sexual discrimination Police Officer Gladys Moss suffers is mirrored with the domestic abuse Edith suffers at home at the hands of her cruel, misogynistic father Edward. While this does lead to some revelations about certain characters - this dark tone contrasts with the hilarious vulgarity of the dialogue in other scenes. And sadly it doesn't always balance out.
Timothy Spall's character is very one- dimensional. He is far too cartoonishly evil and therefore doesn't have any nuance.
While the character of Moss shows what hardships women had to endure when they took on "men's work", in real life she was not Indian, which would have added a whole new layer of difficulty for her in that time and place - even though Anjana Vasan is really fantastic in the role.
The two leads Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley are fantastic as ever in this. And their chemistry radiates, which does help the film a lot.
The interesting thing about the swearing is that when it's used as a dry joke, and in the letters, which are very peculiar, it's funny. But when it is used by men to put women down and abuse them, it absolutely is not.
Overall not quite the funny romp I was hoping for, but still enjoyable in parts.
The real life story of the Littlehampton libel letters is a much more complex one, a darker tale full of flawed, unlikeable characters. The movie version soft-pedals certain events in order to tell a story about the oppression of women at this certain time in Britain. The sexual discrimination Police Officer Gladys Moss suffers is mirrored with the domestic abuse Edith suffers at home at the hands of her cruel, misogynistic father Edward. While this does lead to some revelations about certain characters - this dark tone contrasts with the hilarious vulgarity of the dialogue in other scenes. And sadly it doesn't always balance out.
Timothy Spall's character is very one- dimensional. He is far too cartoonishly evil and therefore doesn't have any nuance.
While the character of Moss shows what hardships women had to endure when they took on "men's work", in real life she was not Indian, which would have added a whole new layer of difficulty for her in that time and place - even though Anjana Vasan is really fantastic in the role.
The two leads Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley are fantastic as ever in this. And their chemistry radiates, which does help the film a lot.
The interesting thing about the swearing is that when it's used as a dry joke, and in the letters, which are very peculiar, it's funny. But when it is used by men to put women down and abuse them, it absolutely is not.
Overall not quite the funny romp I was hoping for, but still enjoyable in parts.