A Great Film about Anger and Grief

Rating: 10/10 (25 November 2017)

(RATING: ☆☆☆☆☆ out of 5)
GRADE: A-
THIS FILM IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: Three of the year's best performances in one of the year's best films.
SYNOPSIS: A grieving mother angers a town in order to seek justice for her daughter's unsolved murder.
JIM'S REVIEW: When one glances at Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), it is hard to ever imagine if this woman ever danced, or smiled, or loved someone. One wonders if she ever was an innocent child growing up. Her constant scowl, disdaining look, and furrowed brow, are all evident from a lifetime of disappointments which show us that here is a most unhappy person.
￼But her appearance tells a deeper story... a tragic tale that gives her permission to be filled with hopelessness and a justifiable reason for her rage. Seven months ago, her daughter was raped and savagely murdered and her killer still remains at large. Justice has not been served and now she must intervene in Martin McDonagh's dark comedy, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Leasing a trio of outdoor displays, she will force local law enforcement into solving her daughter's killing by announcing their ineptitude and shaming the town in the process as the situation becomes even more violent as the investigation spins out of control. The film is superb.
￼Just as the morning fog rolls in like a shroud of ominous foreboding, so does a nagging sense of dread and melancholia which seems to hang onto this town and its inhabitants. Mr. McDonagh serves as director and screenwriter and has created a work of art. He deftly directs his own screenplay with masterful results, blending humor and dramatic tension seamlessly.
The director / screenwriter's unique and slightly quirky vision fills his film with poetic images (a teddy bear slightly submerged by a riverbank, a deserted set of red swings gently moving in the breeze, a box turtle crawling over a sleeping woman, three disintegrated billboard alongside an empty road). His dialog is hauntingly real and filled with confrontational conversations and barbed words. There are scenes of unexpected poignancy (one between Ms. M. and a passing deer near those controversial billboards and another involving a conversation between pink bunny slippers that are heartbreaking) Each and every character, from major to minor, are fully drawn and react with complete honesty and quiet (and sometimes loud) rage.
The casting is flawless. Frances McDormand is a commanding presence and makes an indelible impression as a woman on the verge. Overcome with bitterness and grief, she dominates this film with a no-holds-bar persona. The actress plays this unlikable but passionate character with a vengeance, literally speaking. She is simply astonishing. Her portrayal is a master class in acting. Even when not ranting against the powers that be or fighting to simply be heard, Mildred's silent pauses and side glances fill in all of the nuances of her character's emotional breakdown to chilling effects. (If there is any justice, on screen or off, the Oscar is waiting for her.)
As Mildred's moving targets are Woody Harrelson who brings a nuanced portrayal as William Willoughby, the chief of police and Sam Rockwell playing his dim-witted, loyal, and anger-ridden deputy, Officer Dixon. Mr. Harrelson plays the film's most centered character in a town filled with hate and bigotry and the actor conveys a good man dying of cancer, frustrated by life's limitations and caught in a free fall of emotions. Mr. Rockwell takes his complicated character into areas of comedy and drama that defy description. It is a commanding performance as we watch his character grow from a bigoted mama's boy into a man finally questioning his own self-worth. (Another possible award winning performance in a film filled with great acting?)
Adding even more depth to the complex plotting are Lucas Hedge as Mildred's forgotten and emotionally trampled son, Robbie, and John Hawkes as her abusive ex-husband. Only Peter Dinklage's character is a tad sketchy and in need of more screen time. He becomes her possible love interest...if Mildred could possibly love anyone. Providing fine support in minor but pivotal roles are Zeljko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones, Abbie Cornish, Clarke Peters, and Samara Weaving.
Production values are high. Beautifully filmed by cinematographer Ben Davis, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. uses a variety of musical genres, from opera and pop standards to twangy country tunes, which set that perfect tone in Carter Burwell's atmospheric score. Both words and image create a shattering look at grief that is unmistakably heart-wrenching.
Yes, there are some illogical plot twists and sudden far-fetched acts of violence that never have any legal repercussion on the culprits in this community of law and disorder. But the script has such a lyrical and moving way of expressing the everyday sadness and routine of life that is so commonplace in many rural towns.
Some moviegoers also may not be satisfied with the film's conclusion either. But I was transfixed throughout this film. It is hard to imagine another film this year that is so well conceived and executed in its narrative storytelling, sensitive direction, and its glorious acting.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is one of the year's best.