Three Flaws with Ebbing, Missouri

Rating: 4/10 (16 April 2018)

Director Martin McDonagh has impressed beyond measure in the past. "In Bruges" is a film that perfectly blends the dark, the hilarious, the perverse, and the utterly, utterly depressing.
Going into "Three Billboards" I had high expectations, and I don't know if that coloured my final opinion or not, but all in all, I found it to be lukewarm at best. While there were impressive aspects of the film such as some beautiful shots, outstanding acting from Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, and many, many of the side characters, and brilliant writing, at its core "Three Billboards" is missing something which can be summarised in three points.
1. The Daughter
The core conflict of "Three Billboards" is that of Frances McDormand standing against the negligent police of Ebbing. The conflict is rooted in their inability to solve the rape and murder of her daughter. From the get go you are behind McDormand. There is no two ways about it. However, I found the impact of her plight diminished greatly as the film went on and on. Two moments that define that. One: The sole flashback to her and the daughter fighting, and Two: The death of Chief Willoughby. By only having one flashback I found it hard to connect with how important this fight was to McDormand. We didn't see her with her daughter, it's almost as though her daughter wasn't relevant and it was more of a criticism of negligent police in America. The death of Willoughby stalled the conflict in a major way in that when McDormand and Willoughby were in the same room, it felt like a battle between superpowers. The man who caused all this pain, and the woman who can't stand the pain anymore. They had chemistry, intensity, and both were understandable in their stances. Once Willoughby died, McDormand was forced to direct her anger onto Sam Rockwell's character, who did not have the same impact on the plot as Willoughby. His story was compelling all on its own. To put it simply, the conflict was dampened by a lack of context and the killing off of a core character with whom the tension was most palpable.
2: It got lost
As previously mentioned Willoughby's death ended the most compelling conflict in the film. From that moment on, it becomes less about McDormand's daughter and her retribution, and more about how McDormand is affecting the town itself, which would be fine if the first act had framed it that way. All throughout the first act McDormand's struggle is at the forefront, she fights for justice and it's compelling, you feel her pain, you understand her. Once it turns to throwing molotovs and dating Peter Dinklage I can't help but feel that the direction of everything act 1 set up is tossed out the window (pun intended). Other characters are placed in the spotlight and because of that, McDormand's story is lost and we're left with what feels like an elongated episode of "Three Billboards: The Series".
3: The CGI Deer
This isn't a big complaint, but that deer killed that entire scene. The Ring 2 somehow managed to have CGI deer that were more tangible than that bizarre effect.
3: McDormand and her character
Frances McDormand is a brilliant actress. There's a reason she is so well respected, admired, and placed on the pedestal that she stands on. As a person, I admire her, and her speech after receiving Best Actress was one that will be remembered.
All that said, her performance in "Three Billboards" was one of the most stale, unmoving, uninteresting performances I have seen. A stern glare can only work in so many scenes before it loses its shine, and "Three Billboards" had too many of those scenes. Her character's motivation was simple, and it's easy to get behind, but by the end of the film, her character has not changed. She is still the same stone faced woman that stared down the advertising salesman at the start of the film. Her story has not progressed, she has not gained or lost anything over the course of the film. Her actions appear to have no consequences in relation to her. Her billboards are set alight, but before long they're put back up. She can't pay for the billboards, so someone else pays for them. She throws molotov cocktails at the police station and she serves no time. Her actions have no tangible consequences and that only works to her detriment.
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" could have been so much better. Aside from the three aspects I discussed above, I enjoyed what the film had to do. Caleb Landry Jones was wonderful as the advertising salesman and his arc in relation to Sam Rockwell's character was one of my favourite things in the film. Peter Dinklage was one of the funniest characters in the entire film. McDormand's ex-husband and his new girlfriend had some brilliant scenes, both dark and comic which started to come close to what "In Bruges" had done, it just never reached those heights and was dragged down by questionable choices in storytelling and character development.
4/10