Review of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) by Vds — 27 Jan 2018

This film is supposed to be darkly comic, apparently. I just thought it was funny. Sure, the presentation was a bit more gritty than in your average comedy, but I felt it was still a film made for laughs.

As with all the best comedies, the plot was as basic as it gets. But who needs a plot when you’ve got laughs. And there were plenty of twists and turns too. Things happened that even the savviest audience member wouldn’t have seen coming. Some of these unexpected moments demonstrated a braveness on the part of the film makers – writing out a major character halfway through the film.

Of the three main leads (Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell) it’s hard to say who takes the crown for best performance. McDormand’s character was an instant audience favourite, but I felt Rockwell owned the film. His portray of a confused thug seeing the error of his ways and becoming the remorseful anti-hero, undercut the witty dialogue and gave the film a real reason for being.

It’s always good to go into a film being slightly weary of the hype, and then almost instantly understanding what all the fuss was about. Time and possible awards (though the latter is not a measure of something’s worth) will see the greatness of Three Billboards only increase. Bravo to all concerned.