Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Best Picture Nominee Catch Up Movie: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Written and directed by Martin McDonagh

Stars: Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Lucas Hedges, Clarke Peters, Caleb Landry Jones, Abbie Cornish, Željko Ivanek, and John Hawkes

After seeing the trailer for Martin McDonagh's latest film, The Banshees of Inisherin, I realized that I did not see his most successful movie. I know that Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell got a fuckton of awards for their performances. The movie is good, but I have some problems with it.

A grieving mother, Mildred Hayes (McDormand) takes it upon herself to erect three billboards, calling out the police for not doing anything to solve the rape and murder of her daughter, Angela. The billboards cause a stir with the Chief of Police, Willoughby (Harrelson) and hothead Officer Dixon (Rockwell) in particular.

Knowing McDonaugh's previous work, I knew that there was going to be some politically incorrect dialogues and situations. The story hinges on the billboards and how they cause an uproar in the community of Ebbing. Were the people going to be nice? No. I didn't expect them to be.

The performances by McDormand, Harrelson and Rockwell were fantastic. They deserved their nominations.

I did have some questions. What was up with the confrontation at Mildred's shop? What was the accent that Abbie Cornish had? I love McDonagh's dialogue. There were some lines that were jarring to me. I kept thinking, "No one will say that."

The tone, the atmosphere, the performance were the highlights for me.

Rating: 8/10

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