Cinema Prescription

Synopsis: After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command, Officer Dixon — an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence — gets involved, the battle is only exacerbated.
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage
Screenplay: Martin McDonagh
Directed by: Martin McDonagh

How come a film about a raging mother seeking justice for her daughter’s rape and death become so… (darkly) funny? Martin McDonagh’s THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (what a title, eh?) did just that. A movie filled with characters who have their own fair share of good and bad traits, even the ones you should root for. Though probably it got too caricature-ish sometimes, McDonagh treats the characters with some depths to give us an understanding behind each and every decisions they made.

This movie worked even more with powerhouse performances, especially from the stellar Frances McDormand. Mixing unapologetic attitude with a touch of vulnerability really makes her character a very charming vigilante. The same can be said to Woody Harrelson who brought his own charisma into Chief Willoughby character and Sam Rockwell as Officer Dixon, whose personal growth really takes the theme of redemption front and center.

Threading a fine line of moral ambiguity, Martin McDonagh really did a great job of balancing dark humor with such serious matters and complex characters. THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI might feel raw and explosive from the outside, but there’s a gentle tenderness at its core. A film with too many rage and too many hearts, at once. [A-/B+]

A copy of my review on Instagram.