But nothing quite prepares you for the final scene, a thoughtful, human moment that should resonate for some time.
Blessed with pitch-perfect cinematography and production design, the movie offers many great scenes and no bad ones. It's not a movie about suspense or solutions things are deliberately messy in this world, even if McDonagh presents them in a pin-neat manner. At the same time, the movie tackles things like murder, cancer, and racism, but never in a way that might seem obvious or pandering. They're are all mixed up in a most bracing way. There's hope here - and love - but also hate, rage, and grief, just like life. It's a stronger effort than McDonagh's In Bruges or Seven Psychopaths beneath the sparkling verbiage are genuine, complex emotions. Yet Three Billboards never seems too clever for its own good. The text of those three billboards establishes a narrative but, although that’s the starting point for Martin McDonagh’s stellar Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, it doesn’t hint at the film’s eventual trajectory, which takes the viewer on a dizzying ride through dark comedy, wrenching tragedy, shocking moments, karmic twists. McDormand in particular hasn't been this good since her Oscar-winning turn in Fargo. Aptly titled, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, features superb, lyrical dialogue so good that every single cast member, no matter how little screen time, gives a superb performance. So sharply written that it cuts, the third movie from award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh is a dramedy that starts with cleverness and wit, then opens up into something truthfully human.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is probably the most unpredictable film of the year, and that's coming from a year that includes films like Baby Driver and Logan. Rockwell also gives his best performance here as a cop who isn't that bright and is more than a little racist. Mcdormand gives the performance of her career here, giving us humor through all the pain clearly shown on her face. Basically everything about this film works: from the acting, to the writing, to the direction. In my opinion, if this isn't one of the top Oscar contenders come awards season, then Hollywood has officially lost its mind. Writer/director Martin McDonagh (Seven Psychopaths, In Bruges) has outdone himself with this one. In reaction, she erects three billboards outside of her town that send a message to the sheriff about the state of the investigation. It centers around Mildred Hayes, a woman whose daughter was raped and killed, and who believes that the local police have not done enough about it. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a dark comedy that has an a-list cast with names like Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes, and Peter Dinklage.