Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — Film Review
From the director of In Brugues comes one of this year’s main awards contenders.
Starring Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a brutal morality tale about anger, grief, mortality and ultimately, redemption.
The drama centres around the billboards of the title, as grieving mother Mildred (McDormand) rents the advertisements in order to motivate the local police into solving the recent murder of her teenage daughter.
From here tensions rise in the small town as police chief Willoughby (Harrelson) and officer Dixon (Rockwell) struggle to placate Mildred and the community at large, whilst also dealing with their own troubled lives.
Using a symphony of swearing, tense confrontations and occasional outbreaks of extraordinary violence, Martin McDonagh’s script refuses to offer any easy answers, allowing each character to occupy a moral grey area rather than conforming to simple ‘good guy’ ‘bad guy’ archetypes.
What all the characters of Three Billboards have in common is their ability to elicit deep sympathy. A number of morally reprehensible, selfish and cowardly actions come from all directions, not only from the obvious ones. While McDormand’s Mildred is often the most sympathetic character there are times when the script is unafraid to show the damage her actions have on the people around her.
Likewise, the character of Dixon is a great showcase for the talents of Sam Rockwell, one of the most underrated actors of his generation (if you don’t believe me just watch Moon). A violent, prejudiced, man-child, Dixon is a scathing indictment of the US Police on one hand and a deeply loyal and at times even heroic figure on the other.
It’s these ambiguities that set Three Billboards apart from most ‘Oscar bait’ films. While even historical dramas will often depict a clear ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ McDonagh’s film is more interested in providing a sense of realism.
The other major contributing factor to the realism of the drama is McDonagh’s dark sense of humour. In the most unlikely places and situations, the script and performances provide more than a few laugh out loud moments, which, given the subject matter, is a feat in and of itself. The humour never detracts from the tragic and often devastating story as the subjects of prejudice, rape and terminal illness are all tackled head-on, some with more depth than others.
The film has come under some valid criticism for it's handling of police race relations. Dixon is often called out for being a racist, however, this is only ever mentioned in passing and is never fully explored. It feels as though if McDonagh wanted to tackle this subject he should have either gone all in or omit it entirely. As it stands I can understand why people see it as problematic.
While ‘Three Billboards’ is often described as a ‘dark comedy’ I think it is more accurate to call it a drama with moments of levity. While some dramas can come across as overly serious or dour, McDonagh’s film allows the comedy of real-life situations to shine through in the darkest of moments. For me the directors’ approach is much more effective when telling a dramatic story. Characters making you laugh is one of the most endearing and sympathetic things they can do, making the tragic events and situations of their lives that much more heartbreaking.
With career-best performances from McDormand, Rockwell and Harrelson, supported by a razor-sharp script, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri more that deserves the attention of the Oscars and will no doubt come to be known as a key entry into Martin McDonagh’s back catalogue as the filmmaker continues to deliver some of the most unique and wholly original films of the last few years.
