How can one film be so perfect in so many ways?

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2017)

Last year I had the unfortunate duty of giving the eventual Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards a negative review. 'Moonlight' was not a movie that sat well with me. Now this is a very early call on my part but I have a sneaking suspicion I'm writing the review for the 2018 winner as we speak, and I can assure you it's not going to be a negative review this time around. 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' is the finest film I have watched in a long time. How a film that can break your heart so effortlessly can also manage to be so damn funny and charming at the same time is simply beyond me. It shouldn't be possible. However writer/director Martin McDonagh proves that it can indeed be done.
Frances McDormand in the lead role is astonishingly good. There are many cries at the moment that there aren't enough movies with females in the lead role. Well showing them that the best film in 2017 has one is a good place to base your argument from. She is so good that you can feel her broken heart and soul almost as if it is your own. Sam Rockwell is also nothing short of superb. He remains one for the best actors working today and I only wish he would take on more work. Finally Woody Harrelson is fantastic in the film. He seems to be so endlessly charming in every film he appears in these days. Was that always the case? Regardless, he is a brilliant edition to this film.
Be prepared going into this movie is all I will say. It will take you on an abolsute rollercoaster of emotions. There are times where a hilarious line is delivered and you might actually stop and question yourself, "Am I allowed to laugh in a film this dark?" I know the Oscar nominations aren't even out yet, but I am extremely hopeful that this is the final film read out on ceremony night. Great films deserve great recognition.