"How does a film so empty of emotional intelligence... sweep the board on prizes?" -- Tim Parks in The New Yorker

Rating: 6/10 (26 August 2018)

When I put this one in our Netflix queue, I was expecting a gritty little yarn about a part of the country that's rarely seen onscreen (unless you happen to be watching "Sharp Objects" on HBO), something like "Winter's Bone," only down toward the flatlands and a little bit further north. What with the reviews and awards and all, I must've lost sight of the fact that the film was W&D'd by Anglo-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, also the creator of splashy Tarantinian fantasies like "In Bruges" and "Seven Psychopaths." My bad!
The overall shoddiness of the script, the stagy dialogue and the characters' loony behavior completely undercut the technical virtuosity on display, from the admittedly fine performances to the cinematography and soundtrack. TV and movies have taught us that small-town cops commit random acts of violence with impunity, especially in a vaguely Southern setting; in Ebbing, that privilege seems to be extended to civilians as well, which may be why the victims seem so understanding when, e.g., somebody tosses them out a window or firebombs a building they happen to be sitting in...
Two characters--not portrayed as otherwise admirable in any way--who have been victims of brutal, irrational assaults make large or small gestures of forgiveness; one of them bonds with his attacker and sets off on an open-ended quest that brings the film to its baffling conclusion. I'm guessing that what McDonagh had in mind was some sort of action-packed parable about violence, repentance and forgiveness, but "Crime and Punishment" it's not.
That being said, it looks like the critics have finally gotten it right--the last capsule review I saw (NYT) just read, "Exhausting." And I'm still trying to figure out how good ol' boy Sheriff Woody came by an Australian trophy wife (Samara Weaving of "SMILF") who makes naughty little jokes about Oscar Wilde...