Contains an important message underneath all profanity and mayhem

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2018)

This is my more of a commentary on the movie rather than a review.

Three Billboards is not about those billboards, murder of an innocent girl nor about all the mayhem we encounter throughout the movie. It is not a crime movie as IMDb tag suggests. It's a tragic drama with dark comedy elements which mainly come from one-liners. I think the way this movie ends is a witness to that.
Questions like: Who was the culprit who tortured Mildred's daughter; How did Mildred's relationship with the rest of the city came to be; Did she and Dixon kill supposed rapist at the very end - this and similar question are simply of no importance. If Three Billboards had ended with bringing culprit to justice and delineated details regarding mutual detours from normal citizen relationships, we could have easily thought this was a crime movie about the torture and murder of an innocent girl. That's probably the reason why McDonagh decided to end it somewhat abruptly.
I think this story is about lack of communication which can lead us to believe others are not in the same team as we are, even occupying enemy positions. Three Billboards in a funny and sad way at the same time shows how dangerous that thinking can be. Acting publicly while holding grudges cannot bring anything good. Hence I think Mildred shouldn't have put those billboards at that time - she was to hasty, not giving enough thought about the potential aftermath. Law enforcement responded to her decision to put those billboards very poorly and there you have it - havoc and anger. And we know that anger begets more anger.
Despite enjoying the movie thoroughly, I think some of the scenes and profanities were a bit too quaint. I believe it could've been even better without being so overwhelmingly profane and if Mildred appeared at least a little more feminine. If you don't mind that, you're completely safe to giving it a go.
~ If you found screenwriting and dialogues interesting, check out Birdman if you haven't yet.