Not bad but lacks focus

Rating: 6/10 (1 January 2018)

In an effort to track down who raped and murdered her daughter, Mildred Hayes has three billboards erected outside her town of Ebbing, Missouri. They accuse the Sheriff of doing nothing to catch the killer. This causes a largely adverse reaction amongst the town's folk , not least one of the sheriff's deputies, the hot-headed, irascible Jason Dixon.
Heaps of potential, much of which is wasted. The movie is intriguing and entertaining from the outset - the murder mystery, the town dynamic, the interesting array of characters, all presented with dark tongue-in-cheek humour. Just from the trailer this reminded me of a Coen Brothers movie (not just because it stars Frances McDormand and feels Fargo-esque, or because McDormand is married to Joel Coen) and the initial part of the movies goes some way to reinforce this.
However, writer-director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths) never quite matches the effortless slickness, tightness, engagement, focus and story-telling ability of the Coens. Most tellingly, the plot seems to stumble along, with no clear direction. Yes, there is the murder mystery, which is intriguing to the very end, but the sub-plots around it seem disjointed. Moreover, there is little in the way of clear themes. Even at the end, the messaging is confused and seems to be more a case of McDonagh having a bet each way, rather than making a solid point.
A little bit of focus would have gone a long way.
Can't fault the cast though. Frances McDormand is excellent as Mildred Hayes, as is Sam Rockwell as Dixon and Woody Harrelson as Sheriff Willoughby. Good supporting cast which includes some biggish names - Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish and Kerry Condon.