Frances McDormand delivers one of the best performances we've seen in 2017.

Rating: 9/10 (16 April 2018)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) is a film written and directed by Martin McDonagh (Seven Psychopaths, In Bruges) and takes place in small, rural, Ebbing Missouri and follows our lead actress Frances McDormand who plays Mildred, a mother who challenges the police department's competence by renting three billboards which take aim at their inability to solve the death of her daughter.
Mildred (Frances McDormand) is a remarkably well rounded character. The narrative finds no problem telling us all we need to know about Mildred through spectacular show-not-tell storytelling and she wins over the audience within the first handful of minutes of being on screen. Mildred shows humanizing strengths and weaknesses which come off as gripping, inspiring, and at some points - heart wrenching.
Dixon (Sam Rockwell) has a role in the story of a scummy, bigoted, racist cop who's morally despicable behavior leave the audience disgusted by his actions, but as the narrative goes forth and we learn about Dixon he becomes one of the most compelling characters we've seen in film in recent memory.
Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) brings forth a charm, fun, charisma which serve as light and tension breaking warmth in some of the darker or more tense scenes in the film. Woody Harrelson completely brings Willoughby to life and his magnetic personality makes him a treat to watch anytime he's on screen.
Besides those three main characters, we also see superb performances from some of the supporting characters - namely Caleb Landry Jones playing Red Welby, Kerry Condon playing Pamela, and Abbie Cornish playing Anne. The script along with the actors' dedication to their characters make for a certainly gripping cast of characters.
While there's only one or two things about the story that prevent this movie from being a solid 10 in my eyes, there's still just so much to admire with the storytelling, cinematography, and direction with this film. It's a fully cohesive story which doesn't waste any time and definitely does not overstay it's welcome. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri makes for a great character study given the depth and the arcs we go through with the characters and this film is certainly one of the best of 2017, highly recommend checking this one out.