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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
I wasn’t expecting this when I watched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this film deserves a standing ovation. Anger is an emotion that can drive and destroy us. Anger is an emotion that can eat us alive and blind us. Anger can make us feel good when we get revenge or terrible. In this world, anger begets anger and usually leads down a path that might make us regret everything we have ever done. Anger can leave a trail of destruction the world has never seen if left unchecked. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a film where anger is the driving force for a mother looking for justice.
Written, co-produced, and directed by Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, is a fantastic movie. After seven long months since Angela Hayes (Newton) was discovered raped and murdered outside her small hometown of Ebbing, Missouri, her mother, Mildred Hayes (McDormand), is pissed and had enough. Mildred believes that the police have done nothing to solve the crime. Mildred decides that the best way to bring attention to the case is to rent three billboards near where her daughter was found. Even though Mildred can’t afford to rent the billboards, she decides to rent them for an entire year. The three billboards have a simple message: “Raped While Dying,” “And Still No Arrests,” and “How Come, Chief Willoughby?”. Even though Chief Willoughby (Harrelson) wasn’t the lead investigator, since he is the chief of police, the buck stops with him. The townspeople are upset with naming Chief Willoughby as he has terminal cancer, which everyone and their mama knows. The police officer who is the lead investigator on Angela’s case is Jason Dixon (Rockwell). Dixon is not the most loved person as he is openly racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and a mama’s boy who would rather spend his time beating up other races and reading comic books rather than doing high-quality police work. With the billboards, tensions start to rise to high levels as lines are soon drawn. Any support Mildred gets is disputed as she is a force to be reckoned with as she is hostile to everyone. As both sides try their best to protect what they love most, will each side lose sight of solving Angela’s case?
Frances McDormand is a freakin gangsta!! The more I watch her, the more I think she is one of the all-time best to ever do it. Homegirl is a freakin gangsta, and when she plays a role where she doesn’t have to smile and is a complete badass, she freakin excels. McDormand is by far the best in this film as she is a mother hurting and looking for answers. It is one thing to put up billboards, but it’s a whole different situation when you are ready to fight everyone. She has no shame in cursing at everyone and letting them know exactly how she feels. Honestly, some of the best scenes come from how McDormand terrorizes everyone. My favorite scene is with the high school kids. When one of them throws a drink on her car, she gets out and kicks the boy and girl in the no-fly zone region. That is a badass right there. I applaud you for assaulting those punk-ass kids. She even whipped a dentist and set fire to a police station. That is straight-up hardcore.
Besides the performance of McDormand, I was brought in with the story. You could see the pain in Mildred, and when you hear that the police haven’t gotten anywhere with the investigation, you feel for her. As the movie unfolds, you learn that she has an ex-husband who is dating a 19-year-old along with not having the greatest mother/daughter relationship. The billboards were something that lit a fuse in everyone. You see that several townspeople care about her, like the police chief, but she wants answers, and she is not getting them.
This brings me to the performance of Woody Harrelson and his character in the story. As the police chief, he oversaw what happened in the town and police department. He becomes the target of Mildred because of the influence he holds. When you learn that he has terminal cancer, you feel for the man because he has a loving wife and kids. What I like about Harrelson in this role is that he cared about Mildred and felt like he didn’t do enough for her. When he died, he wrote all these letters. The one to Mildred was special and funny because he wanted to have the last laugh. Even though the billboards were directed at him, he paid for one month’s rental because he got a kick out of them. If that isn’t a person who cares, I don’t know what is.
This brings us to Sam Rockwell’s character, Jason Dixon. Jason is an interesting case. He is an openly racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and a mama’s boy who is also a cop. He treats everyone in the town with disrespect, especially minorities. His character seems to take the more dramatic redemption. After Willoughby dies, homeboy goes on a rampage and beats the hell out of the person who sold Mildred the billboards. Dude even threw him out of a second-story window. This led to him getting fired. When Jason reads Willoughby’s letter, he seems to have a slight change of heart and decides to investigate Angela’s murder. He even fights a rapist because he believes it’s him. When it turns out the person wasn’t the one, he teams up with Mildred to kill him anyway. This seems like a sense of closure.
Honestly, this film is fantastic. Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell should be applauded for their performances. McDormand is the one that is a straight-up gangsta in this film, and I loved every minute she was on screen. The story is heartbreaking but a key to trying to find justice. Anger usually never leads anywhere, but it can be a spark for action.
