THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE
EBBING, MISSOURI
Director : Martin McDonagh
Year : 2018
Genre : Comedy/drama
Rating : ****
22 years after winning an Oscar for her terrific central performance in the Coen Brother's crime classic 'Fargo', Frances McDormand looks set to earn another trophy for her shelf thanks to her barnstorming portrayal of a foul-mouthed justice-seeking mother in the enigmatically titled 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' - Martin McDonagh's critically acclaimed tragicomedy that like 'In Bruges' and 'Seven Psychopaths' before it, manages to effortlessly juggle heart-wrenching social commentary with a well-spring of jet-black humour.
Set in the eponymous Midwestern town, the Film 4 funded movie tells the unorthodox story of Mildred Hayes (McDormand), a grieving mother who in response to the lack of arrests for her daughters brutal abduction and murder, posts a trio of red billboards along the side of the road. Quickly becoming a talking point of the town, the boards outwardly defame and attack the county police force - most specifically the reputation of the cancer-stricken Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) whose positive standing in the community of Ebbing leads to great controversy between Mildred and the townsfolk who view the signs as disrespectful, innappropriate and unlawful.
As is typical with a Martin McDonagh film, 'Three Billboards...' is relentlessly entertaining and frequently hysterically funny; with many of the laughs coming from the magnificent Frances McDormand who relishes every verbose profanity and lacerating insult with merciless, venom-tipped ferocity. Despite being the main protagonist and emotional core of the movie, Mildred is a pretty unpleasant character to spend time with and several of her actions cross the line from righteous retribution to downright psychopathy. However, despite these glaring character flaws, McDonagh gives her enough development and context over the course of the two hour running time to still allow his audience to be on her side - even when she is treating her troubled son (Lucas Hedges) badly and dishing out the most outrageous cinematic outbursts since 'Whiplash's Terence Fletcher.
It would have been so easy for McDonagh to turn this tale of vengeful justice into a simple heroes vs. villains story but one of the great, subversive elements of 'Three Billboards...' is that there are really no good guys or bad guys; rather lone individuals caught up in an increasingly disenfranchised, uncaring world and this ultimately lends the movie a strangely ambivalent and, as it turns out, controversial tone - a tone which is not only reflected in the performances but also the music and the cinematography, with Carter Burwell's contemplative orchestrations underpinning Ben Davis' sumptuous visuals which perfectly encapsulate a town caught on the precipice of total economic and social collapse and whose towering billboards may indeed be the catalyst for much-needed change.
Even some of the more disreputable inhabitants of Ebbing are given surprising dimensions, most notably Sam Rockwell's horribly prejudiced yet infantile Sergeant Dixon who rightfully bears the brunt of much of Muriel's anger. Rockwell is absolutely fabulous here as is Harrelson and the rest of the impressive cast which includes Abbie Cornish, Peter Dinklage, Caleb Landry Jones and John Hawkes. However, it is Mildred who remains the storys primary focus and McDormand fearlessly carries the considerable emotional weight of the film on the shoulders of her jumpsuit with deceptively graceful aplomb.
It would have been so easy for McDonagh to turn this tale of vengeful justice into a simple heroes vs. villains story but one of the great, subversive elements of 'Three Billboards...' is that there are really no good guys or bad guys; rather lone individuals caught up in an increasingly disenfranchised, uncaring world and this ultimately lends the movie a strangely ambivalent and, as it turns out, controversial tone - a tone which is not only reflected in the performances but also the music and the cinematography, with Carter Burwell's contemplative orchestrations underpinning Ben Davis' sumptuous visuals which perfectly encapsulate a town caught on the precipice of total economic and social collapse and whose towering billboards may indeed be the catalyst for much-needed change.
Even some of the more disreputable inhabitants of Ebbing are given surprising dimensions, most notably Sam Rockwell's horribly prejudiced yet infantile Sergeant Dixon who rightfully bears the brunt of much of Muriel's anger. Rockwell is absolutely fabulous here as is Harrelson and the rest of the impressive cast which includes Abbie Cornish, Peter Dinklage, Caleb Landry Jones and John Hawkes. However, it is Mildred who remains the storys primary focus and McDormand fearlessly carries the considerable emotional weight of the film on the shoulders of her jumpsuit with deceptively graceful aplomb.
Winning several Golden Globes and nominated for a number of BAFTA's (and no doubt Academy Awards too), 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' is an acerbic and unpredictable journey into the dark recesses of revenge, grief and retribution and while there is plenty to smile about, bubbling below the movies many laughs and spontaneous bursts of bloody violence is a deeply moving tragedy that should have audiences contemplating its many complex themes long after the beautifully ambiguous final scene has finished.
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