well acted but the story goes no where

Rating: 4/10 (11 August 2018)

I don't get why this movie has gotten so much praise, yeah, it's OK, but slow with a very boring plot. Only the acting can keep your interest for nearly 2 hours. This was more like a hallmark TV movie. Basically, Mildred, decides to put up billboards criticizing the work done by the police in her daughter's murder. In a flash back, we see she carries a lot of guilt because of the last conversation she had with her daughter, but that part is never expanded upon. So of course, people in town get on her back, because the sheriff, Willoughby, is well liked and dying of cancer. She gets a lot of threats and her son gets picked on, but she won't take down the billboards. One side plot which I didn't get why it was thrown in, was Willoughby gives his family a special day, then kills himself. I don't get why that was thrown in. Also, Dixon, one of the "bad" officers but depicted with a heart of gold at the end, beats up the advertising guy, and doesn't go to jail. Instead, he nearly dies at the police station when Mildred sets it on fire. Only to team up with her at the end for vigilante justice. So out of character. So she just leaves her only child left to go hunt someone down; you'd think her son would be her number one priority. It was like just a mesh-pot of story lines thrown in to make a nearly 2 hour run time.
FINAL VERDICT: Just don't go in expecting some kind of murder mystery or action packed. Just regular people doing some dirty things to others because they think they have the right to revenge instead of dealing with their problems and grief.