Conflicted

Rating: 5/10 (16 January 2018)

I had extremely high hopes, for this movie. From word-of-mouth, to the success it had at this year's Golden Globes, I was excited to see this. It contained an ensemble cast of actors, whose work I have cherished, and directed by the talented Martin McDonagh!
All was going well until the 45th minute, or so--when the plot and performances began to nosedive (for me). I have genuinely never experienced a situation, like this, previously. The first 45mins are gripping. The performances compelling. The dialogue, raw.
And then...it loses itself. Suddenly, comedy is introduced--and I mean, suddenly. Rockwell's character begins to act in such an overly oafish way. It's cartoonish.
Other characters, who are initially presented as vile, suddenly are portrayed in a more favourable light--but without reason.
Take this example, where McDormand's ex-husband comes back to the home, has a violent & threatening conversation with her. Complete with table flipping, and physical assault--which is only halted when the teenage son puts a knife to the father's throat. High stakes, right?
Then--for some inexplicable reason--it chooses this point in the story, to introduce the husband's new 19-yr old companion. In the middle of this extremely tense scene, suddenly this new character comes in, and provides a comedic foil by using a tired stereotype, of a young lady (pretty, but dumb).
I have never watched a movie while continually muttering "Oh, please...", as much as I did, with this one. Like I said...right around the 45min point, the script, plot and performances became a lot less believable.
I will watch anything that McDormand stars in, and to be fair--her performance alone, is compelling.
But I found this movie to be a huge disappointment. It can't decide if it's a drama, a dark comedy, a Cohen Brothers production, or all of the above. It literally felt like they had switched editors, a third into the movie. It's a shame.
POST-SCRIPT:
Those who are claiming this movie is racist (?!), are ridiculous, and should not be listened to.