Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - movie review
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Plot: A mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell
Director: Martin McDonagh
Certificate: 15 (very strong language, strong violence, sex references)
Runtime: 1hr 55 mins
Release Date: Friday 12th January 2018
The films of Martin McDonagh are an acquired taste. They aren't for the easily offended and if bad language sets your teeth on edge, no word seems to be too foul for him. In Bruges has an entire monologue dedicated to Brendan Gleeson calling Ralph Fiennes a c**t. McDonagh's newest flick doesn't hold back on the notions of political correctness but that works in the films favour. Of the films that have currently been released within the 2017-18 Oscar season, Three Billboards might be my favourite.
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| Strangely, this move isn't allowed in kickboxing. |
If I'm being honest, I've never been bowled over by Frances McDormand before. In most of the films that I've seen starring her, nothing has convinced me that she is one of the greatest living actresses of all time. I should mention that I haven't yet seen Fargo, which many hail her performance for, so maybe my opinion would be slightly different if circumstances were altered. Therefore, taking everything into account, Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is nothing short of exceptional. McDormand has completely won me over with her depiction of a grieving mother who wildly lashes out at society and the law enforcement for her voice and cause to be heard. It is a remarkable achievement for McDormand to perfect such a wide and complex array of emotions contained within a steely and hardened exterior. There are significant moments, including one involving a poorly CGI rendered deer, in which cracks begin to appear within Mildred's cold and harsh personality and in those moments, McDormand solidifies herself as not only a major contender for this year's Academy Award for Best Actress but the probable winner. As well as the harrowing emotion, McDormand nails the biting comedy from McDonagh's script, ebbing and flowing between cynical deadpan comedy and hilarious outbursts that need to be seen to be believed. Thankfully, it brings me a substantial amount of pleasure to reveal that McDormand isn't alone on the mountain of excellence as most of her other supporting actors join her. Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell are tremendous and prove themselves to be a great team whenever they work with McDonagh, considering that their previous collaboration was the darkly comic Seven Psychopaths. One of the most impressive feats that Three Billboards manages to pull off is that the film isn't all about Mildred's quest for justice to find her daughter's killer and give the police force a kick up the behind. McDonagh navigates his way through a variety of narratives that don't immediately play a big part in the central plot but end up either feeding in nicely when called upon or just adding a healthy dose of development for characters. Harrelson is given a tender arc as a Police chief who is overcoming his own personal obstacles whilst having to deal with Mildred's vigilantism. Harrelson and McDormand share, what initially appears to be an intense interrogation that, within an instant, morphs into the films most heartbreaking and touching scene highlighting the emotional bond these two characters have.
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| Err, bro, personal space much? |
FACT: Martin McDonagh wrote the screenplay with Frances McDormand as the lead role in mind.
Speaking of interesting narratives, there is one plot line that appears to have split the public as to whether a specific arc was suitable for a specific character. The argument is that Sam Rockwell's character, Dixon, a police officer within the town of Ebbing, is a bigoted racist that lashes out and whoever disagrees with his backwards ideals, he punishes. I'll admit, I did not like seeing this character run rampage among the town and wanted him to suffer. This is the mentality the film wants you to have. You aren't meant to like this person before the film, during the film and even after the film yet, McDonagh works his brilliance for his script and adds an arc to the character that only a talented genius could pull off. Dixon is given a redemption arc. Now, before any of you reading this jump down to the comments and slam down on your keyboard "WHY ARE YOU AGREEING WITH A RACIST?", please stop. I am in now way in agreement with Dixon and his way of life but in regards of changing himself as a character and the journey he goes through during Three Billboards, it is a progressive one suggesting that even the most tormented of souls have an opportunity to be saved. Furthermore, if you were to expand upon this idea a little more, McDonagh, I would argue, uses Rockwell's character as a representation of America. There are areas of America that are stuck in old and terrible ways that have yet to embrace the positive changes most of us are celebrating. What McDonagh is presenting here, is that America has a chance to evolve and learn to accept these changes and does so in the form of Dixon. I understand that it's a bit of a strong statement for me to make but that's my personal interpretation. Also, Sam Rockwell is sure to win an Oscar for his performance here. If the writing can't win you over, then Rockwell's sensational characterisation sure will. If I were to critique Three Billboards, I'd have to point out Abbie Cornish who makes an appearance as Harrelson's wife. Unfortunately, Cornish stand out like a sore thumb amongst all these greats of the acting world. I'm unsure if it was the bewildering accent or the fact that she's unable to hack it alongside McDormand in one particular scene, but I just found her whole performance to be fairly stale and lack the chutzpah to perfect McDonagh's witty and punchy script. I also do have a slight issue with the humour from time to time but it's something that I've noticed throughout all of McDonagh's films. Three Billboards is very funny however, when humour begins to nibble away at the dramatic elements, especially in heated scenes, I found it more of a distraction from a potentially fantastic scene than a cheap joke thrown in for good measure.
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| When someone steals one of my chips... |
As for how Three Billboards will do at the Academy Awards, I'd say it has a strong chance to be fairly successful. Frances McDormand is almost guaranteed to win the gong for Best Actress and McDonagh's script is something film students should be analysing for years to come. The film balances dark and sadistic comedy with heartfelt and emotional drama well and is a sprawling tale that isn't afraid to make some unexpected choices. Its commentary on the current state of America is a strong one but I think it's refreshing to hear a voice reveal that not everything is sunshine and rainbows yet it can be fixed. Ensure you do all that you can to see this.
My Verdict: 9/10
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