One of the best comedies of 2024, Balm for the Internet-weary, is on Netflix

If you’re reading this, you’re probably someone who spends a lot of time on the Internet. And if you’re constantly online, you’ve probably been involved in at least one bloody Internet confrontation. Such conflicts often involve small disagreements that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but the emotions can still be intense. This makes certain online confrontations hard to forget, even years later: it’s so easy to get angry when some idiot unnecessarily hateful, mockingor just wrong on the InternetThe strange, exaggerated feeling of inflamed anger that comes over all of us when an anonymous stranger attacks us online is part of what writer Jonny Sweet and director Thea Sharrock are trying to do with Evil little lettersone of the best comedy movies of 2024, coming to Netflix on July 27th.

Not that the film itself is about the Internet. It is set in Littlehampton, England in the 1920s, so there are no scenes where text bubbles pop up on the screen as people message each other. At the same time, the dynamic is quite familiar. The film begins with Edith Swan (The favourite Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman, a middle-aged, unmarried woman still living with her parents, receives the latest in a series of obscene, abusive letters. Her strict father (Timothy Spall) calls on the police to take action, which leads to Edith’s neighbor Rose (Jessie Buckley), an Irish immigrant, single mother, and unabashed libertine, being accused of the crime.

And in this context, it is a crime to send someone a letter calling them a “foxy whore” – the story is based on the true story of Littlehampton poison letter scandal in 1923a depressing series of events that led to the real Rose going to prison for the letters, mainly because a jury found her social status disreputable. But Sharrock and Sweet do not focus on class injustice or prejudice. While they skim over these ideas, Evil little letters Rather, it’s about the joy of self-righteous indignation and the fact that people who are hungry for attention or recognition will often go to extremes to get it.

Evil little letters is clever and caustic on the subject, whether Sweet’s script is taking aim at the local cops who smugly puff themselves up about the case but refuse to seriously investigate it, or how annoyed the local gossip gets when she feels left out of a scandal. It’s a lively, funny film, as more and more Littlehampton residents receive aggressive letters full of the same redundant swear words and react with absolute horror – and a certain glee at having such a deliciously transgressive scandal to ponder, and such a perfect scapegoat as Rose to blame for everything.

Many comedic dramas of this kind are based on underdogs fighting back against the establishment, but one of the entertaining things about Evil little letters is that everyone here is both an outsider and at least a little bit complicit in their own oppression. Edith’s sad relationship with her domineering father and her obvious, hungry jealousy of Rose’s chaotic, rebellious life make her an almost sympathetic character, even as she relishes the chaos her situation unleashes. (Colman’s performance here is particularly beautiful—from the start, she portrays Edith as a woman with a habit of repressing most of what’s on her mind.) Rose is the victim of institutional prejudice, but her rudeness and complacency don’t help her when she most needs the town’s compassion, or at least tolerance.

And Anjana Vasan as Gladys Moss, a newly minted detective trying to prove herself (they existed in 1920s Britain, although they were rare), has a complicated role to play as a cop who cares about the truth but doesn’t want to clash with her paternalistic, sexist boss – or side too obviously with the town’s pariah. The bond between her, Rose, and a group of aging, iconoclastic local women with a strong Golden Girls vibe ultimately drives her Evil little letters further into the realm of feel-good fantasies than is necessarily good for him.

But even when the film feels like someone trying to establish a #1920sGirlboss hashtag, it’s still snappy and lively — and has a familiar vibe for anyone who’s ever watched an internet battle, whether from a safe, nervous distance or in the midst of an argument. This film is entertaining, full of hilarious, fast-paced verbal sparring and just enough angst to give it some emotional tension as it builds toward an obviously optimistic ending that’s miles away from the real-life version. But it’s also a good reminder for the next time an online confrontation looms — maybe it’s better to just step back and remember that everyone else out there isn’t necessarily having the same stakes or arguing for the same reasons.

Evil little letters is streaming on Netflix and is available for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, AppleTVand similar platforms.