After months have passed
without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold
move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message
directed at William Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his
second-in-command, Officer Dixon -- an immature mother's boy with a penchant
for violence -- gets involved, the battle is only exacerbated.
Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Frances McDormand,
Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Hedges
Rated R for violence,
language throughout, and some sexual references
Genres: Crime, Drama
Runtime: 1h 55min
Review:
Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing Missouri is a challenging pitch black dramdey that’s engaging throughout
even if it never offers any clear answers or resolutions to it’s story. Martin McDonagh has experience dealing with
deeply flawed characters with some humor mixed in, something he did wonderfully
in In Bruges. Martin McDonagh deals with
similarly troubled character here even if he doesn’t quiet work the same
alchemy he pulled off with In Bruges.
McDonagh film mostly works even though the tonal shifts are occasionally
jarring. Its anchor throughout is
Frances McDormand who is simply a force of nature throughout. Her performance is even more impressive since
she’s pulls it off fairly effortlessly.
Woody Harrelson is always a welcome sight and he’s on his game here,
sadly he’s only in the film’s first third and the film misses his presences
afterward. Sam Rockwell is solid
throughout even if the character fairly unlikable. There’s a bit of a redemption arch presented
but it’s a slightly strange message since his character is referenced as having
done terrible things before the story starts.
The film is filled those kind of challenging contradictions and it can
occasionally be difficult but the performances make it worthwhile.
B+
