Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Review

At first I wasn't sure how this movie would play out, but I'm extremely glad I went to see it.

Story- Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) is a grieving mother, her daughter Angela (Kathryn Newton) having been raped and burned alive by criminals who've never been caught. After seven months pass, she finally has an epiphany after driving past three billboards on an abandoned road. She goes to the town advertiser in charge of the billboards, Red (Caleb Landry Jones) to put up signs on these billboards, specifically calling out the chief of police, Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), for not solving her daughter's murder yet. Willoughby gets assistance from his racist, dim-witted "sidekick" Dixon (Sam Rockwell), who isn't new to a fair share of controversy in the town.

Cinematography/Props- Due to the nature of the rural town, at first I didn't realize this movie takes place in present day. From the tiny bit of the trailer I watched, there wasn't really an indication, but as it progresses there are certain tells, like cell phones and modern headphones. It's always nice when there's some initial ambiguity to the time period a movie takes place in, like It Follows. Even the cars in the town are older, Mildred driving what looks like an Oldsmobile station wagon. The cinematography is gorgeous, being both darker at times and extremely vibrant in others. There's one scene in particular where there's a doe in the field by the billboards, the green textures of the grass in contrast to the bright blue sky, it's almost like a painting. There's also a panning shot of a river, another particularly fantastic shot.

Acting- This movie is brilliantly acted from start to finish by everyone involved. The first person I have to mention, though, is Caleb Landry Jones. I immediately saw him and thought back to his role in Get Out, and how great of a creep he played, but in this movie, he starts out seeming somewhat suspicious, but man does he shed that character fast. His character plays a central role in the sense that he's the source of the billboards going up, but he has a few other character progression moments that really strengthen your investment in his arc. Next up is Sam Rockwell, he too has an unexpected but great character progression as well. At several points I expected his character to do one thing, then he went and did the opposite. Both Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson have such good rapport with each other, their characters are essentially foils, but they bounce off one another with ease, and it's a delight to see it unravel on screen. I read that this movie was nominated for at least four academy awards, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest and I sincerely hope this movie gets more publicity than I feel it has currently. Peter Dinklage is in this movie as well, and although his character got ample screen time, he performed great. Two final mentions of the cast are Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving. Newton has a very small amount of screen time, however you empathize with her character even more due to the solid portrayal. She doesn't appear until maybe 45 minutes in, all the while I was waiting to see if there would be a flashback scene, and there was. Last is Weaving, who also plays a small part in the grand scheme of things, however she added a terrific series of comic relief bits. She looks like a young Margot Robbie, who is also an amazing actress, and I see her progressing in the future as well, hopefully.

Directing- First and foremost, the great thing about this movie is its unpredictability. It's directed by Martin McDonagh, who also directed Seven Psychopaths, a film I watched earlier in the year. That movie had its fair share of twists as well, keeping you on your feet. This one improves on that model, always keeping you guessing what is going to happen next. I didn't dislike Seven Psychopaths, it was just a bizarre film. I want to go back and revisit it because this movie was so good, and I can't wait to see if there (hopefully) are some bonus features and deleted scenes that add to the story. I look forward to more from him in the future.

Soundtrack- This actually was a lot more subtle than I thought thinking about it after seeing the movie. This doesn't mean it was bad, or even forgettable, I think I was just so wrapped up in the story unfolding onscreen that I just didn't catch it. One thing I did notice was the absence of "licensed" music, opting for a more score heavy soundtrack. There were however several points in the story where Dixon has headphones in and is listening to different songs, comically unaware of events unfolding around him.

Final Verdict- A. While I agree with Chris Stuckmann about the ending's ambiguity in a sense and wanting a bit more, I think the ending was satisfactory. All in all, a fantastic film any fan of movies will thoroughly enjoy.

#drama #FrancesMcDormand #SamRockwell #WoodyHarrelson #DarkComedy