The power of billboards

Rating: Null/10 (4 March 2018)

Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs: Rogue has tangentially alluded to its staggering efficacy (the same could also be said of Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049) while the cartoon series The Simpsons has for years subtly and explicitly lampooned the odious impact it has on the unwitting observer. Finally, now we have Mr McDonagh place that advertising vehicle on the front and centre, showing both its potency and frailty.
Frances McDormand's performance as Mildred Hayes, a grieving mother of a rape-murder victim whose case has hit the doldrums, encapsulates what McDonagh wishes to express in his commentary and nails it right from the start where we see the mother's exasperation after having pulled over the side of the road and her contemplation upon seeing the unused, dilapidated billboard which leads her to the light-bulb moment that steamrolled over a sleepy town in Southern USA. McDormand's exceptional understated performance is well complemented by a tight ensemble of performers (Harrelson, Rockwell, Hedges, Hawkes, Landry Jones, Cornish, Britt-Gibson, Ivanek, Dinklage, Peters, Weaving, Martin, Warren, Newton, Condon, and others) that provides a tapestry of unforgettable characters that wraps up a perfectly executed film.
My rating: A-flat.