a powerful motion picture

Rating: Null/10 (11 March 2018)

In the sparsely populated town of Ebbing, Missouri, divorced mother Mildred Hayes still grieves over the rape and murder of her teenage daughter which occurred several months earlier. Disgusted by the lack of progress in the investigation to apprehend the perpetrator, she takes matters into her own hands and purchases three billboards along the highway in an attempt to light a fire under the local authorities, but instead finds herself engaged in a personal war with the authorities and the enraged townspeople who see her as a vigilante. Bleak, isolated, and provocative drama from director Martin McDonagh is perfectly cast and completely unpredictable, with scintillating dialogue, tense character interactions, and a believable examination of human nature in the most dire of circumstances. McDormand is remarkable as the stone-faced mother who makes some morally questionable decisions, and Rockwell is tremendous in a complex role as an angry, bigoted officer who's not as one-dimensional as he initially seems. ***