Very solid but somewhat overrated and held back by some bad choices

Rating: 8/10 (27 December 2017)

Overall I love Martin McDonagh's filmography, and i really enjoy Three Billboards. It's funny, well acted, and (at times) quite compelling and well written. The character development of Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson's characters in particular are honestly one of the best aspects of any movie this year.The way McDonagh chose to film some of the action scenes (the best one being a long single take) is also very well done. Francis McDormand is also a lock for an oscar nomination as is Sam Rockwell. But this film has some glaring, ugly ugly ugly flaws that I'll go through.
1. The CGI deer scene. My. F***ing. God. This scene is so cheesy and awful. The deer looks awful. McDormand's dialogue is awful. The entire scene is just cringe worthy, and, in case you did't guess it, awful. It's easily my least favorite scene of the year in any of the movies in my 2017 top films list.
2. Lucas Hedge is a terrible actor in this film, and I don't understand how. He was pretty amazing in Manchester by the Sea, but here in this movie he just seems so uninterested in even being in the film, even though his dialogue is quite well written and should be easy to portray. The scene where he attacks his father and threatens him with a knife is probably the most unenthusiatic and just plain terrible Lucas could have been in that scene. Every moment the film asks him to do anything he seems unable to convincingly portrait his character.
3. The Ex-husband's comic relief girlfriend is just so unfunny it's unbearable. The rest of the comedy in this movie is solid and feels Coen Brothers' ask, but she just seems like such a generic overly dumb character. I really don't understand what they were going for with her but it never once works
4. There is a scene I enjoy in the movie, where McDormand's daughter's supposed rapist confronts McDormand, and while the scene itself is quite good, I find it pointless within the overall context of the film. I think it easily could have been taken out and the movie and plot would remain unaffected.
Although these critiques might sound harsh, I want to point out I still really liked this film. I think it takes a while for it to really get started, but the complexity of the characters and the sheer talent of the filmmaking and writing in general make this a must see of 2017