Performances Are Its Strongest Suit. And Also Its Saving Grace.

Rating: Null/10 (16 March 2018)

Drenched in pitch black humour & treading on thin ice throughout its runtime, Martin McDonagh's third feature film manages to be disturbing & amusing at the same time but not all its attempts at humour hit the right spot and the ones that do, their effect don't last for long.
The story of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri follows a grieving mother who, infuriated by the lack of progress in the still unsolved case of her daughter's murder, challenges the local authorities by making a bold move that not only irks the ire of the police but also the town's residents.
Written & directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges & Seven Psychopaths), Three Billboards begins on a promising note but the more we learn about its characters, the less interested we are to stay on board. McDonagh's dark humour may be too much to handle for some but it suffers from tonal inconsistency.
Characters are as colourful as they are despicable, the interaction between them is sharp, at times unforgiving & seething with anger but the change they undergo over the course of the film's runtime is so hurried that it's not convincing enough. Its dark wit may be too dark for some but when it clicks, it's absolutely rib-tickling.
The film's real strength, however, is the strong performances by its talented cast. Leading from the front is Frances McDormand in a showcase that's brimming with charged aggression. Woody Harrelson & Sam Rockwell chip in with terrific inputs of their own, and it's a battleground of wits whenever either of them share space with McDormand.
On an overall scale, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is neither as wild & refreshing as In Bruges nor packs as interesting a set of characters as they were in Seven Psychopaths. Performances are its strongest suit & possibly its saving grace too, for the writing, dialogues & humour fail to leave their mark in what's possibly Martin McDonagh's weakest film to date.