Review of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) by Leon B — 22 May 2018

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri.

(2017).

Plot:

A murdered girl's defiant mother (Frances McDormand) boldly paints three local billboards, each with a controversial message, igniting a furious battle with a volatile cop (Sam Rockwell) and the town's revered chief of police (Woody Harrelson).

Review:

Every now and again, a low budget movie comes along that exceeds expectation, which this movie certainly did. I personally found it entertaining throughout, and the performances from McDormand, Rockwell and Harrelson were brilliant. The storyline was also well put together but I was slightly disappointed with the ending. Although the subject matter was quite serious, the witty script made it a joy to watch, in a black comedy type of way, and it really does prove that you don't have to have a huge budget to make an entertaining movie. Anyway, the movie is about a mother, Mildred (Frances McDormand) who has become a recluse after her daughter is brutally murdered. After waiting 7 months for the police to come up with some results, she decides to take matters into her own hands by putting "RAPED WHILE DYING", "STILL NO ARRESTS" and "HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?" on three billboards, hence the title. The billboards upset a lot of people in her small town, including Chief Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), and officer Jason Dixon who is a racist and a violent alcoholic. As Bill was unable to solve the case, he is pushed to investigate the murder again, after the billboards cause a huge impact in the town. Whilst suffering with pancreatic cancer, Bill decides to take his own life after finding out that the cancer has progressed, which leaves Mildred with no answers about her daughter. After another violent event, Jason is sacked from the police but he decides to look into the murder after reading a note that Bill left him before he committed suicide. Out of frustration, Mildred decides to burn down the police station, not knowing that Jason is inside but he manages to escape with severe burns around his body. Whilst in a bar, Jason hears a man bragging to his friend about being with a girl around the time Mildred's daughter was killed, so he gets into a fight with him to try and get his DNA. After finding out that the DNA didn't match, Mildred is left with no leads but she is still determined to find out what happened to her daughter, even though everyone is telling her to drop it. Frances McDormand was perfect for her role, along with Sam Rockwell who was funny throughout. The cinematography was also perfect for the movie and the various cameos were great additions to this unique movie. It could have easily been a depressing, downbeat film because of it's emotional backdrop, which is why I was surprised with the outcome. Because of the amount of awards that this movie received, I hope that other directors follow suit, especially in this day and age of loads of sequels and remakes. A great watch!

Round-Up:

This movie was written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who also brought you In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths. Judging by his previous movies, Martin is definitely one for dark comedies but I doubt that he was expecting such a success with this movie. With Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell winning Academy awards for there roles in this film, which they thoroughly deserved, I can't wait to see what this director will come up with next.

Budget: $12million.

Worldwide Gross: $158.6million.

Genre: Crime, Drama.

Cast: Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Caleb Landry Jones, Kerry Condon, Alejandro Barrios, Zeljko Ivanek, Peter Dinklage, Amanda Warren, Sandy Martin, John Hawkes, Clarke Peters and Samara Weaving. 8/10.