Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Seven months after her daughter’s murder, the investigation is going nowhere. Mildred (Frances McDormand) rents three billboards on a road at the edge of town and publicly names the police chief. That decision shakes the entire community. My rating is ★4.0. This film places every character in a grey zone — no clear villains, no clear heroes.

What it’s about — Burying a daughter’s death on a billboard

Ebbing, Missouri. The message written across three billboards is blunt: Raped while dying. And still no arrests. How come, Chief Willoughby? The message isolates Mildred from the town; the chief (Woody Harrelson) responds in an unexpected direction; and his deputy Dixon (Sam Rockwell) cannot contain his rage. The three characters’ stories interweave and collide throughout. Mildred’s actions earn sympathy and simultaneously draw criticism. The film never issues a clear verdict on whether she is right or wrong. It continually reminds the audience of the uncomfortable truth that just because a rage is justified does not mean every expression of it is.

Direction — The imbalance of mixing comedy and tragedy

Martin McDonagh’s direction blends black comedy and tragedy in a single frame. Funny moments and heartbreaking moments can exist within the same scene. That imbalance feels not uncomfortable but more real, in fact. There are shots with the sensibility of a music video; there are abruptly violent scenes. The film is unpredictable, which keeps you anticipating the next moment.

Performance — McDormand and Rockwell’s grey characters

Frances McDormand won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this film. She plays an angry mother, but what McDormand captures precisely is that the anger comes not simply from grief but from a desperate will to maintain control. Sam Rockwell’s Dixon enters as the most contemptible character in the film and then, gradually, other layers emerge — and he makes that transformation believable. Woody Harrelson’s Chief Willoughby is brief but powerfully imprinted. He plays a man who is neither villain nor hero but someone doing his best with real limits; that scene is the film’s emotional midpoint.

What the film says — Can people change

Three Billboards is a film about justice but not a film in which justice is achieved. The man who killed the daughter is never caught. Yet the characters find ways to move forward in their own manner. What the film is most interested in is not outcomes but the question of whether people can change. Sam Rockwell’s character is the center of that question.

Ratings & reception

IMDb scores it 8.1 and Rotten Tomatoes gives it 90%. At the Academy Awards it won Best Actress (McDormand) and Best Supporting Actor (Rockwell), and received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay. TMDB holds it around 8.1, and it is frequently cited as one of the best films of 2017.

What doesn’t quite work

The ending does not resolve decisively. Viewers who don’t favor open endings may feel unsatisfied. There is also the criticism that Dixon’s transformation happens too quickly. Whether the film fully justifies that change is a matter of debate.

Verdict

Not a perfect film, but one that stays with you for a long time. Frances McDormand’s performance, the intelligent screenplay, and the approach of rendering every character with dimensionality make this film exceptional. A discomforting but honest film about how rage and guilt can change a person. Martin McDonagh is Irish, first making his name as a playwright, and this is his third feature film. His earlier works In Bruges (2008) and Seven Psychopaths (2012) similarly blend black comedy and serious drama. The fact that both McDormand and Rockwell won acting Oscars at the same ceremony is evidence that this film had the best screenplay of its year. ★4.0.

Recommended for

• Those who enjoy the combination of black comedy and serious drama
• Those who prefer complex character dramas with morally grey figures
• Viewers interested in the performances of Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell