Inspired by a true event, “Scandalously Yours” offers an insight into the narrow English society of the 20th century

THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – WHY NOT

Scandalously yours is inspired by a real event which, in the 1920s, shook Littlehampton, a small seaside town in the south of England: a flood of anonymous and filthy letters landed continuously in the mailbox of Edith Swan (Olivia Colman ), one of the most respectable women in the county. All eyes naturally focus on her neighbor, Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), a young widow of a poor life who spends her days at the pub, raising her daughter alone and swearing like a carter – in short, the ideal culprit. The dispute between neighbors ends up shaking the entire neighborhood, which is torn between supporters of Edith and defenders of Rose.

Scandalously yours examines the narrow respectability of English society at the beginning of the 20th century^e century against a backdrop of enigma intrigue: led by a recalcitrant policewoman, the investigation will eventually lead to a most surprising resolution. The form is a little less so: everything happens in the costume film, liquidating its stock of British picturesqueness. Its director, Thea Sharrock, does not forget to twist her news story to make it coincide with the standards of the time: inexplicably, the sorority ends up triumphing over neighborhood hatred. Neither the natural insolence of Jessie Buckley, nor the madness in Olivia Colman’s eye manage to enhance a film which, while aiming for satire, is organized to be perfectly inoffensive.