One of the cleverest and best written films of its genre in several years

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2018)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a black comedy murder mystery starring Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, and Woody Harrelson. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths), it is quite possibly one of the cleverest and best written films of its genre in several years.
In the small town of Ebbing, Missouri, divorced mother Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) grieves over the murder of her daughter Angela several months earlier. Fed up with the way local authorities are handling the investigation, Mildred decides to take matters into her own hands and rent out three abandoned billboards near her home to try and find the culprit herself.
Featuring well-balanced comedy and drama, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a highly entertaining and amusing film, which also serves as a commentary on police ineptitude and vigilantism. The film's screenplay crackles with wit and clever humour, which helps move the story along at a brisk pace. Frances McDormand is superb as Mildred Hayes, a character so well written it is practically impossible not to cheer for her whenever she is onscreen. This is easily her best role since Fargo, which this film feels like something of a spiritual sequel to, due to its Coen brothers-esque tone. Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson also gave great performances as the local police trying but failing to find who killed her daughter. Despite their incompetence, the two are still likeable for the most part and we feel their frustration while searching for the culprit.
I rate it a solid 9/10