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Prison Newspaper

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Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 12

July 2025

Donate Here

Culture

Film Review of Wicked Little Letters

By

Vincent

Vincent writes from Long Bay Correctional Centre in New South Wales.

StudioCanal

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Set in the period following ‘The Great War’ (World War I), Wicked Little Letters is a comedic re-telling of true events that took place in Littlehampton, England. It follows the tale of a mischievous letter writer with a penchant for obscenities as the wide-spread receipt of profanity-laden letters spark a public uproar, police investigation, and a high-profile court case. The investigation to uncover the culprit and the relationships between the ladies of Littlehampton is captured utilising peppery and tongue-in-cheek dialogue.

A significant theme of the film is gender relations and Christian conservatism, as the story frames the town’s gender dynamics within the Christian belief system and its associated social structures. The defects of patriarchy are revealed through the battles faced by the film’s primary protagonists. Edith (Olivia Colman) is shown to live in complete servitude and subservience to her overbearing father. Rose (Jessie Buckley) is constantly asserting her independence as a single mother while deflecting taunts and digs at her supposed lack of modesty and morality. Power relations in the workplace are seen through the experiences of Gladys (Anjana Vasan) and how she contends with male colleagues and superiors in the police force.

Wicked Little Letters is a fascinating story of how profanities alone disrupted and confronted the public moral consciousness of a small English village. A slight downfall of the film is its almost too-simplistic portrayal of male dominance and conservative naivety. The viewer does need to suspend their critical thought to fully enjoy all that this movie has to offer.

Review:

3.5 jailbirds – “A foxy film!”

Set in the period following ‘The Great War’ (World War I), Wicked Little Letters is a comedic re-telling of true events that took place in Littlehampton, England. It follows the tale of a mischievous letter writer with a penchant for obscenities as the wide-spread receipt of profanity-laden letters spark a public uproar, police investigation, and a high-profile court case. The investigation to uncover the culprit and the relationships between the ladies of Littlehampton is captured utilising peppery and tongue-in-cheek dialogue.

A significant theme of the film is gender relations and Christian conservatism, as the story frames the town’s gender dynamics within the Christian belief system and its associated social structures. The defects of patriarchy are revealed through the battles faced by the film’s primary protagonists. Edith (Olivia Colman) is shown to live in complete servitude and subservience to her overbearing father. Rose (Jessie Buckley) is constantly asserting her independence as a single mother while deflecting taunts and digs at her supposed lack of modesty and morality. Power relations in the workplace are seen through the experiences of Gladys (Anjana Vasan) and how she contends with male colleagues and superiors in the police force.

Wicked Little Letters is a fascinating story of how profanities alone disrupted and confronted the public moral consciousness of a small English village. A slight downfall of the film is its almost too-simplistic portrayal of male dominance and conservative naivety. The viewer does need to suspend their critical thought to fully enjoy all that this movie has to offer.

Review:

3.5 jailbirds – “A foxy film!”

Movie Review of The Wasp

Movie Review of The Wasp

Movie Review of The Wasp

By Vincent
By Vincent

The Wasp is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the viewer in suspense until the very last moment.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 9

2 MIN READ

Movie Review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Movie Review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Movie Review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

By Vincent
By Vincent

Welcome to the planet where the apes are rulers and the humans – as far as we know – are reduced to a subspecies.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 8

2 MIN READ

About Time Book Club: The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

About Time Book Club: The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

About Time Book Club: The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

By About Time
By About Time

His message is simple but powerful: no matter how difficult life gets, we can choose to be kind, be grateful, and find joy.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 6

4 MIN READ

Movie Review of Dream Scenario

Movie Review of Dream Scenario

Movie Review of Dream Scenario

By Vincent
By Vincent

Dream Scenario is a deliciously quirky film by Director, Kristoffer Borgli. The audience is taken on an unexpected journey which travails the terrain between the conscious and subconscious mind.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 10

3 MIN READ

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Book Club Review: The Wife and the Widow by Christian White

By About Time

Set on a quiet island in the dead of winter, The Wife and the Widow is a gripping mystery/thriller told from two perspectives.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 9

6 MIN READ

Movie Review of The Wasp

By Vincent

The Wasp is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the viewer in suspense until the very last moment.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 9

2 MIN READ

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Reviewed by Mark

I've read thousands of novels over the last fifty-odd years and not one of them was romance, but while I'm trying new things – like paraplegia and prison – I might as well add in a romance novel to my life experience.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 8

3 MIN READ

Movie Review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

By Vincent

Welcome to the planet where the apes are rulers and the humans – as far as we know – are reduced to a subspecies.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 8

2 MIN READ

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