A film that delivered more than I was expecting.

I was anticipating a kitchen sink, period British quirky comedy. What I found was that, and much more.

The ensemble cast, are without exception, superb. The premise is that in post great war Littlehampton in the south of England  someone is disrupting the community by sending profane poison pen letters.  Feisty recently widowed young Rosie, Irish and with a young child is prime suspect, pillar of society Edith a middle aged Devout spinster the initial target of the campaign.

What unravels is much more nuanced than I was anticipating. A young Asian WPC has to endure misogyny and racism, and pious Edith is supressed and repressed by  controlling parents and father in particular with Roses struggle for acceptance greater than is first apparent.

Thea Sharrock directs superbly, the poignant moments are poignant but not maudlin, the comic sequences funny s nth period detail a delight. Olivia Colman excels as Edith the confined woman who wants to break free, Jessie Buckley revels in carefree abandon as Rosie who doesn’t give a f***. Alongside the imperious Timothy Spall deliver much from a limited screen time and Anjana Vasan offers a strong, unsentimental performance as WPC Moss.

Writer Jonny Sweet has fashioned a little gem, happy to use  profane and crude language for effect and laughs, but wholly within context