McDonagh and a great team create a very intense film

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2018)

Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) grieves the death of her daughter who was murdered seven months ago. She expresses her dismay of the unsolved murder using the eponymous billboards implicitly placing blame on Ebbing's police chief Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson). As Willoughby is having serious personal troubles, the townspeople are not amused.
The screenplay by Martin McDonagh (also the film's director) has flaws but it is also fascinating with unexpected twists and developments with an open-ended conclusion. The flaws include an unexpected redemption with great sacrifices from a character who shows the worst possible characteristics in film's first half. But the narrative is praiseworthy for its various conflicts plus taking the viewer in directions that one would not expect in a "redneck" story. It is also rich for the ambiguity in all characters.
This is especially apparent in Hayes. There are moments that might have been cheap you-go-girl cheerleading chants but McDonagh and McDormand (the McDo team, perhaps) are too smart for that. It is often easy to sympathize with Mildred but there are times when her actions and words either go too far or deliberately cause undue harm to others. But for the times that are easy to sympathize, McDormand has a delivery that is so powerful that one is left too aghast to cheer.
While many elements of the film are praiseworthy (the script, the performances of McDormand and Harrelson as well as Sam Rockwell), the standout work comes from McDonagh as the director who connects it all together superbly. Regardless of what is happening, there is rarely a moment that feels false and never one that doesn't feel intense.