Dark comedies can be very tiresome, especially when directors try going overboard with adding a gruesome amount of violence and excessive strong language every few seconds. There are a few directors who manage to be successful with telling a story in the veins of a dark comedy, with one of them being British filmmaker Martin McDonagh.
I fondly appreciate "In Bruges" and "Seven Psychopaths", and when watching the trailer for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," I was expecting to the same tone structure of McDonagh’s previous works with a few somber moments. However, I was completely wrong as the film had a huge emotional arc that felt very realistic and grounded. The film builds on the anger that is built inside all of us, but this film takes it to a whole another level that made it also feel extremely poignant and relaxed. There aren’t many films that can successfully pull off that task, but McDonagh did it beautifully and it felt so refreshing to see a film follow a formula like this.
Frances McDormand stars as Mildred Hayes, the mother of Angela Hayes - who was brutally raped and murdered seven months ago and there has not been an arrest reported regarding Angela’s tragic end. To get the attention of police chief Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), she rents out three billboards outside of her town.
As Willoughby and a majority of the town aren’t pleased with Mildred’s actions, more commotion begins to spark as redneck cop Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) finds himself caught in the case that leads to intensifying actions between Mildred and the law enforcement of Ebbing. From "Three Billboards" opening, I was immediately hooked onto the brilliantly-executed premise. This is such a Martin McDonagh premise and while it succeeds in finding ways to make its audience laugh, it also builds itself on feeling relevant within the present day viewpoint on the police and other forms of law enforcement.
The screenplay is McDonagh’s best to date and it is amazing to see him tackle such a harrowing subject matter as pure anger and unbearable pain within someone, as everyone including Mildred, has something vastly troubling about themselves. Without giving away any spoilers, the characters arcs are beautiful and each one has their awe-spiring moment, regardless of how despicable each and every character is.
I also commend McDonagh for finding ways to jab at law enforcement without making it seem like a straight-up gag. "Three Billboards" manages to accomplish so much that certain films try to do and yet they fail horrendously. McDonagh is a genius and he should be recognized for his work by all the award associations, not just for his writing, but his directing too.
Frances McDormand has evolved as an actress since we saw her Oscar-winning work in "Fargo" and going from an endearing pregnant cop to an enraged, vulgar-filled mother trying to do the right was something that left me speechless. This is one of 2017’s best performances and she is getting a lot of buzz surrounding her performance, but Sam Rockwell is "Three Billboards" standout.
Dixon’s arc is one of my favorites I have seen in years and how mature the racist cop becomes blew me out of the water. I’ve been an admirer of Rockwell for years since I saw "Moon" back in 2009 and I firmly believe this is his long-awaited chance to receive recognition from the Academy. Woody Harrelson is also terrific as the simple-minded Willoughby and it was great seeing supporting turns from respected actors, such as John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage.
When "Three Billboards" closed it’s book and had the credits begin to roll, I starred at the screen with a dream of wanting the story to continue. McDonagh creates characters that you want to follow until the end of the time and for each of these three films, I have wanted a longer continuation.
However, I appreciate the way he wraps up each of his films and it gets me hyped for whatever he does next. "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" is one of the year’s best films and makes for an impressive dark comedy that is not just a dark comedy. It takes twists and turns that you wouldn’t expect and that’s the beauty of sitting in a theater to watch a film like this. We don’t get many of those anymore, unfortunately.
