this deserves praise and it's a very solid character study.

Rating: 8/10 (8 May 2020)

First things first: this isn't exactly a murder mystery film, is more about the characters in the small town that get their lives changed after the billboards are in. even mildred. this is also the story of two policemen, one struggling because of the disease (don't think it's a spolier, it's told very early in the film), the other because he can't dealt with himself and he's angry with everyone.
the best things about the movie are the characters: pretty much all of them, or almost all of them work. we know completely that they were written an extensive biography just for the huge amount of subtext that we can get it's there. and just not the main characters. mildred's ex-husband or peter dinklage's character were also written carefully. even dixon's mom is a great character - even though i love her as an actress because she's mac's mom on it's always sunny in philadelphia.
that's another thing: the cast. besides frances mcdormand who is an awesome actress and woody harrelson you have sam rockwell, maybe the one of the most underrated actors still now a days. john hawkes. samara weaving (i think she's coming for a great career). dinklage. ivanek. landry jones.cornish. mac's mom. i usually don't praise the cast, because i think if the script and the directors are good enough, an average cast will make at least a reasonable movie: but having really good actors saying those lines makes obviously this feels even better. is an huge upgrade.
then the best part of the move: the lines. half of the lines of mildred are quotable. mcdormand probably had multiple orgasms when she read her character the first time. it just works. it's quirky, funny, intense, dramatic, it's the whole package. the characters grow in the movie and start to forgive themselves and the world around them. to fix them. they are indeed the best thing in the movie and 90% of the dialogues here just work very well. also the pace is good, doesn't make the movie boring, the escalation of events is well created even it might have some over the top stuff that doesn't have the real consequences. but a lot of characters have their own personal dramas, you know, like real life. the movie gave them that.
issues i had : i would like more of the mystery. some of the events might really seem over the top. and yes: while i think abbie cornish is a good actress, shouldn't they hire someone closer to harrelson's age? I'm not saying she can't be her wife, i'm saying there are so many good 50 or 60 year old actresses around with less work undofrtunately, why not have i don't know a helen hunt?zta jones? andie mcdowell? kim catrall?renee zelweger? just name dropping here.
anyway it's a minor thing. "three billboards" is about an america a lot of people forget, and is about the real human beings that live in that america. is about forgive and let go, about love, and most of all about relying on each other. trust and believe. is a movie with a lot of meaning, rich characters and great dialogue that deserves to be remembered. i hope it will be.