Chop Suey

Rating: 4/10 (15 December 2017)

This was a choppy film so I will give my opinions in a choppy format.
Frances McDormand is Mildred whose daughter was raped and murdered 7 months earlier. She is the Five Stages of Grief writ large. She is angry, in denial, feels guilty, etc, etc. She excels in the role but I felt the character was too much like her famous role in Fargo. I didn't feel that she had to start from scratch in creating the persona of Mildred; it just wasn't that much of a reach.
Woody Harrelson plays the police chief and again surprises me at how good an actor he can be. There wasn't much of a development arc here but he still was fun to watch. He reminded me of Andy Griffith; a good hearted sheriff surrounded by lesser men and who had more going on upstairs than he let on.
Sam Rockwell was very good. I honestly did not realize it was him playing the drunk, racist cop until the credits rolled.
Music. Sucked. OK I just don't like country music as a soundtrack, especially when sung by angst ridden women.
This isn't really a movie, it's a series of scenes that somewhat flow from one to another. It's a Coen brothers movie under a different name.
What's good? The casting and the writing.
What's lacking? Coherence and a plot. Too many loose strings and "whatha?"