Incoherent political commentary mars stellar performance by Harrelson

Rating: 4/10 (9 January 2018)

"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" offers a few laugh-out-loud moments, a nuanced performance by Woody Harrelson, some interesting plot reversals and unexpected developments. It's touted as a black comedy, but is not nearly as consistently amusing in its absurdity as "Burn Before Reading," which also starred Frances McDormand and had a similar seriocomic tone.
Part of the problem is that the film tries to be relevant and political, touching on serious matters, such as spousal abuse, police brutality, unequal treatment of black suspects by police, vigilantism, political activism and other social issues. The cast is inclusive, with a sixty-year-old actress as the protagonist, blacks in two key roles, a dwarf and a character who may have repressed homosexual tendencies. It takes feminist digs at men who leave their wives for bimbos a third their age and seems to allude to some of the Obama-era consent agreements for police department oversight. It even has an extended scene that Snyder would term dog-petting, with a fawn. Frightfully relevant fare, but not particularly amusing.
To work all these diverse social issues into the story, the characters often behave in manners that make very little sense, if anybody stops to think about it. Unfortunately, the pace is a bit ponderous for much of the film and willful suspension of disbelief is routinely disrupted by excessive reliance on jiggly-cam shots, giving the audience ample opportunity to notice the incongruities.
The role that suffers the most is McDormand's Mildred, who sets out to right a grievous injustice, but commits a series of violent anti-social acts that make her seem nearly as morally bankrupt and contemptible as the individual she wants to bring to justice. She has received considerable praise for her performance as a strong woman, but her actions (including an incomplete conspiracy in the final scene), would seem to justify some of the invectives hurled at her character by the ex-husband, daughter, son and other characters. Her performance is largely single-note. Her character displays about as much remorse for her actions as the Only Black Lives Matter urban terrorists display for their acts of physical assault, arson and vigilante assassination. That the film tacitly condones her acts and this character is being singled out as some sort of cinematic role model is a sad commentary on society.
A good drama or comedy should have a strong moral. The protagonist should confront some obstacle that proves insurmountable until he or she learns some valuable lesson about life and somehow becomes a better person. The moral to this movie is stated in a letter written by Willoughby (Harrelson) to Dixon (Rockwell), but no character follows the advice. Mildred becomes more forgiving and patient in one aspect of her life, but perhaps not in another. Social issues, like police brutality and vigilante assaults on police officers are touched upon, but largely for comedic effect. Often, characters seem to behave in irrational manners in order to make some incoherent political statement.
McDormand also had a supporting role in John Sayles's "Lone Star," which was a highly effective drama/mystery that explored various social issues and which had a diverse cast. But the social issues were seamlessly woven into the plot of LS and presented from various viewpoints without bias. In TBOEM, the social issues seemed tacked on and the plot and character motivations seem contrived to highlight them.
Even the titular billboards seem contrived. Five thousand dollars per month would seem excessive, even for billboards in the heart of a city with slightly over a thousand residents. Considering that the billboards were disused and hadn't generated any income in several decades, she probably could have gotten the billboards for much less, perhaps as little as $100/month each or $250 for the three, and why wouldn't they accept it? (Why a city the size of Billings even has a company specializing in outdoor advertising is also a mystery.) Simple two-color printing job with no artwork. Pitch it as a PSA, get the price for vinyl sheets down to $500, if not for free. A couple of hundred to hang the sheets. Donald Trump could have gotten the billboards for a year for $5,000. But $250/month doesn't have dramatic weight, gravitas. At $5,000, she has to sell her truck and scrounging up the rent for the following month becomes a significant obstacle - not realistic, but significant.
But the filmmakers wouldn't want Mildred to behave like Donald Trump. Instead, she behaves like staunch fiscal conservatives regard liberals as behaving, by tossing excessive money at a situation others don't even regard as a problem; with no reason to believe the expenditure will produce any positive results, without even trying to get the best, most cost-effective deal or waiting for a quote before giving her best offer, and belligerently insisting on continuing the effort, even when the results seem to cause nothing but problems with no discernable benefit.
Rather than a heroic character, Mildred seems a cynical caricature of liberals.