Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

[AimingforYoko]

Quote

In this darkly comic drama, a mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder, when they fail to catch the culprit.

Wow. Just wow. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Not a wrong note was hit, acting-wise. It was definitely Frances McDormand's movie, but stellar performances all around from Woody Harrleson, John Hawkes, Zeljko Ivanek, Lucas Hedges, Peter Dinklage and last, but certainly not least, Sam Rockwell. He took what normally would be a one-note asshole and gave him layers. Like the description said it was a darkly comic drama, not a comedy. 

McDormand for Best Actress is a gimme, but don't be surprised if Rockwell gets a Best Supporting nom.

[Ohwell]

I plan on seeing this.  I'm glad it's by the In Bruges director Martin McDonagh, and not the Coen brothers, who I think are overrated.

[Silver Raven]

Outstanding. As @AimingforYoko mentioned, not a wrong note anywhere  Even the small roles are superbly cast. Caleb Landry Jones, and Samara Weaving also give outstanding performances.  Beautiful setting, too, though it was filmed in the Blue Ridge, not the Ozarks.

I also had to look up the soundtrack to find out who sings the "three and four make seven" song, but I couldn't find it.  Anybody know?

[AimingforYoko]

29 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Caleb Landry Jones, and Samara Weaving also give outstanding performances. 

Little grace note I loved was Red getting Dixon the OJ even after he found out who it was. And Penelope was responsible for the biggest laugh in the movie (to me) from Peter Dinklage, "Penelope used 'begets'?"

And the song is "Buckskin Stallion Blues" by Townes Van Zandt.

Oh, and I also loved that Anne's (Abbie Cornish) accent was not explained at all.

Edited November 26, 2017 by AimingforYoko

[Silver Raven]

Quote

And the song is "Buckskin Stallion Blues" by Townes Van Zandt.

Thanks @AimingforYoko, There was a woman singing it at the end.  Is that the same version?

Yeah, I was wondering why Anne was English.

[wlk68]

I really really liked this. Strong performances all over the place. Agree regarding Rockwell. His character could've been such a one dimensional cliché villain but yeah ... layers.

I also appreciated that the DNA wasn't a match and that the story wasn't wrapped up with a nice neat bow. Unlike the movies, very rarely does that happen in real life so it was refreshing .to see.

[blueray]

1 hour ago, wlk68 said:

I also appreciated that the DNA wasn't a match and that the story wasn't wrapped up with a nice neat bow. Unlike the movies, very rarely does that happen in real life so it was refreshing .to see.

I was the complete opposite. I was hoping that they solved it and there would be a conclusion to it. It would have been a nice tie back to earlier in the movie when the police chief said in the letter that sometimes some one just "over hears in a bar". It would have also give the other guy (Jason?) a good detective moment and a redeeming moment. And she would have got some closer. The end made no sense. Why would they go and possibly kill the guy without any real proof of him doing anything. Especially when they knew that he didn't kill her.

The cast of this movie was good as was the soundtrack. I did find myself getting confused when this was suppose to be taking place. At first I thought it was like the 80's but I guess it was current? Overall, I left disappointed and didn't really enjoy the movie. But it may just not been my type of movie since I love a somewhat happy ending.

Edited November 26, 2017 by blueray

[Silver Raven]

The ending isn't about tying up loose ends, it's about Mildred's journey from despair and out the other side.  She forgave her ex, and even smiled at the end when she was in the car with Dixon (though I did wonder how her son was going to get to school if she ran off with the station wagon).

One thing in the dentist scene bugged me.  If he told her he needed to take out a tooth, why was he drilling?

[AimingforYoko]

2 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

One thing in the dentist scene bugged me.  If he told her he needed to take out a tooth, why was he drilling?

Hint: The same reason he said it needed to come out without even a cursory exam. Or was about to start without novocaine. He was channeling his inner Szell.

[wlk68]

9 hours ago, blueray said:

I was the complete opposite. I was hoping that they solved it and there would be a conclusion to it. It would have been a nice tie back to earlier in the movie when the police chief said in the letter that sometimes some one just "over hears in a bar". It would have also give the other guy (Jason?) a good detective moment and a redeeming moment. And she would have got some closer. The end made no sense. Why would they go and possibly kill the guy without any real proof of him doing anything. Especially when they knew that he didn't kill her.

The cast of this movie was good as was the soundtrack. I did find myself getting confused when this was suppose to be taking place. At first I thought it was like the 80's but I guess it was current? Overall, I left disappointed and didn't really enjoy the movie. But it may just not been my type of movie since I love a somewhat happy ending.

Don't get me wrong, I was incredibly disappointed that the DNA didn't match and there was no closure. That being said, I stand by my original statement. Real life isn't perfect and there isn't always a happy ending. I thought it was brave of the movie makers to not go the clichéd happy ending route. 

 

As for driving to Idaho to kill this other guy, I'm hoping they have a change of heart before they get there.

[kiddo82]

Easily one of the best movies I've seen all year.  I didn't look at my watch once.  It's one of those films where you have no idea which way it's going to go.  I also liked how everything didn't get wrapped up at the end and how Mildred, like a lot of people in real life, may never ever know the truth.  Or maybe she will 10, 15, 20 years down the road.  Like Willoughby said, sometimes that's just how these things go.  But like @Silver Raven said, the story was about Mildred, her journey, and how her emotions were fueled by her own guilt as much as anything external.  When it first appeared that Angela's rapist/murderer was going to reveal himself exactly how Willioughby outlined I thought it was too on the nose.  I'm kinda glad it went the other way.

23 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Little grace note I loved was Red getting Dixon the OJ even after he found out who it was. And Penelope was responsible for the biggest laugh in the movie (to me) from Peter Dinklage, "Penelope used 'begets'?"

And the song is "Buckskin Stallion Blues" by Townes Van Zandt.

Oh, and I also loved that Anne's (Abbie Cornish) accent was not explained at all.

At first I thought Red was going to pour the orange juice on Dixon's burns.  The way it ended up was rather nice though.  McDormand was her usual brilliant self with the rest of the cast as good as advertised.  I thought Samara Weaving (Penelope) was a revelation in 2 or 3 brief scenes and you can never have enough Zelijko Ivanek.  Rockwell deserves a nomination.  

 

8 minutes ago, wlk68 said:

As for driving to Idaho to kill this other guy, I'm hoping they have a change of heart before they get there.

I'm thinking they stopped for lunch (we did see her pack some sandwiches and a thermos) and cooler heads prevailed.  I could even seen Dixon being the voice of reason.

[thuganomics85]

Finally getting all the award movies in my area, and this was my first watch.  Definitely a great first choice.  While definitely offensive and dark on a lot levels, I thought it was hilarious, perfectly acted, and found the story and these characters great to watch. 

Out of Martin McDonagh's work, I've only seen In Bruges before this (need to check out Seven Psychopaths), but I can already see that he has his own unique style of filmmaking and writing that I dig.  I almost want to say that it is Coen Brothers-like, but I feel like that is a disservice, because it doesn't feel like he's ripping them off or anything, but taking a similar format, and putting his own spin on it.  But I really like how he writes characters, flawed and all.  The good ones have bad moments and even some of the bad ones have moments of goodness in them.  And while he doesn't shy away from their bigoted views and other offensive behavior, I like that he doesn't seem to either approve of what they are saying/doing or judge them for it either.  He just presents them as they are, and the audience can decide what they think.

But, damn, that cast!  Francis McDormand reminded me again why I still think her performance in Fargo was one of the best of all time, and I thought she gave another powerhouse performance here.  I love how raw and emotional she was, and didn't shy away from Mildred's less then positive qualities either.  But I still was rooting for her to find the killer (or peace), and I hope things work out for her.  Woody Harrelson was bit more muted, but I really like how he made Willoughby a flawed, but decent man, who really did want to bring Mildred justice.  And I did not see his fate coming at all.  And then there was Sam Rockwell, well at first I was wondering why he was getting singled out, because while good, Dixon was kind of by the numbers at first.  But the more the film went on, the more layers he got and then I realized that, yes, Rockwell deserves all the praise.  Of course, he's one of those actors that is great in everything.  Still remember seeing him first as "Guy the red shirt" on Galaxy Quest.

Everyone else was amazing of course.  Peter Dinklage rocking a sweet moustache, Clarke Peters and his "Lester Smoove" voice, Zeljko Ivanek, Kerry Condon, John Hawkes being a scary fucker (still forgot that one of the first roles I saw him in was the Sol from Deadwood), and Lucas Hedges continuing to show that he is the real deal after Manchester by the Sea.  Only real sour note was Abbie Cornish, who I normally like (even in crappy films), but there was something off about some of her scenes.  Maybe it was the accent.

Loved the scenery, even if it was Missouri, but North Carolina instead.

While I know this film won't be for everyone, I hope it has enough fans to get it a few Oscar nominations.  Have to think McDormand and Rockwell are locks at least.

[snickers]

well, with the way the nominations are coming out and the recognition it is getting, i think it has a good chance...it seemed to sweep one of the many award ceremonies already

 

I saw this a couple of weeks ago, the hubby mentioned he wanted to see it so we checked it out...i think it is hands down one of the best movies of the year, I thought this was way better than Lady Bird....while the subject matter is deep, I liked how the character of Dixon evolved.....though did anyone else think he was the culprit in the beginning?

 

And i have a different opinion on what they might have done had they actually reached that guy in the end...I think Mildred would have killed him once she saw him and recognized him

[rwlevin]

As someone who’s seen all of his movies and 4 of his plays, as well as reading a 5th, this was quintessential McDonagh. He is so dark and sardonic with a dry wit and his pieces rarely have happy resolutions and yet have perfect non-twist endings that people do not expect. I love him.

 

i also like how flawed and human his characters are. I would kill to be able to write like him.

[methodwriter85]

On 11/26/2017 at 7:17 PM, kiddo82 said:

I'm thinking they stopped for lunch (we did see her pack some sandwiches and a thermos) and cooler heads prevailed.  I could even seen Dixon being the voice of reason.

That's my interpretation of the movie's ending. They change their mind, but they ultimately resolve to work together to solve her daughter's murder.

I wanted to find out the perp, but it really wouldn't have fit the movie if they had. It wasn't a murder investigation movie. It was about the social mores of a town that is being challenged by an angry woman to wake out of their social complacency.

[sally-can-wait]

I found this to be a bit of a mess. It felt like certain actors were acting in different movies. One scene was played for straight comedy while another was straight drama. It seems it was trying to hit that Coen Brothers sweet spot of perfectly weaving comedy, depravity and sadness but it missed the mark for me. I also have to disagree with the crowd because I did not feel the acting was as good as advertised. I know that Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell will probably get Oscar nods but neither transcended the character for me and I have seen both much better. I have also sadly come to the realization that I don’t care for Lucas Hedges which sucks because he is popping up in more and more movies and he ruins every scene I see him in.

I also have to mention how much I hated the relationship with the ex-husband. In the beginning of the movie it is established he has been both physically and verbally abusive to Frances McDormand’s character so much so that we actually get a scene with his hands around her neck and Lucas Hedges putting a knife to his throat to stop him and yet towards the end the ex is being played off for laughs and he is cowering towards her? No. It does not work like that. And his girlfriend was over-the-top stupid and unnecessary.

There was one bright spot for me though and that was Peter Dinklage’s speech at the dinner. Best scene of the movie imo.

Lastly, she just happened to have a fire extinguisher in her car? I saw this with a friend and we both mentioned how odd and random that was as we were leaving the theater.

[Inquisitionist]

On ‎11‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 6:25 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Oh, and I also loved that Anne's (Abbie Cornish) accent was not explained at all.

Cornish was one of the few elements I disliked about the movie.  She's 21 years younger than Woody Harrelson and looks it, if not more.  The first time I saw them in a scene together, I thought she was his daughter.   And that accent was jarring.

On ‎12‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 6:07 PM, thuganomics85 said:

 Woody Harrelson was bit more muted, but I really like how he made Willoughby a flawed, but decent man, who really did want to bring Mildred justice. 

I am generally not a fan of Harrelson, but he won me over in this role. 

There were many things about this movie that should not have worked (and maybe didn't, as double-elvis points out), but I thought the acting was top-notch and kept things believable.

[GreekGeek]

I finally saw this last night. I think McDormand is a shoe in for Best Actress, though something about the whole "Look how brave she is for looking so unattractive!" talk rubs me the wrong way. 

Overall, I was riveted. I liked not being able to predict the end or having everything tied up neatly. I was glad to see that nobody was all good or all bad, including the murder victim (although a couple of the minor characters were borderline cartoonish, like Penelope). The ambiguous ending was satisfying rather than exasperating. My guess is that guy in Idaho didn't rape and kill Angela, but that he did something similar to a female civilian in Iraq.

The one plot point that felt fake was Mildred's burning the police station. I recognized that it was rage at having her billboards burned--I assumed Dixon did it, but was this ever made clear?--but if Dixon had not been there to save them, the case notes on her daughter's murder would have been destroyed. (And, as the Brow Beat columnist on Slate pointed out, a lot of material that would have allowed justice to be done for other victims was in fact destroyed.) And why was Mildred arrested for drilling the dentist's thumb but her assaulting two high schoolers was never mentioned again?

[scarynikki12]

Mildred's ex burned the billboards.  He mentions it at the restaurant near the end of the movie.

[GreekGeek]

8 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

Mildred's ex burned the billboards.  He mentions it at the restaurant near the end of the movie.

Thank you! I missed that.

[afterbite]

I didn't love this movie as much as I'd wanted. It hit one of my big pet peeves, and that's the use of racist or offensive language when it doesn't necessarily seem to serve the story. I'm not quite sure what extra we gained from the repeated use of the n-word or r-word, for example. Did we need it hammered home that there was probably some racism going on in that police department? I think we could have gotten that without the use of that word, and just as well. Did we need to know that Frances' character was abrasive? I think that was pretty well established outside of the use of that language. There are plenty of ways to show that people are bad people or racist people or morally gray people without using language that makes the movie uncomfortable to watch for those viewers who have those words thrown at them as a slur. Use those ways so that your movie isn't unnecessarily painful for some of the people watching it.

The other thing that bugged is that there were absolutely no consequences. Rockwell's character pistol whips and throws a guy out of the window in front of half the town, including the incoming chief, and no one arrests him or makes it seem like he will ever be arrested. Frances' character sets the police station on fire, badly injuring whats-his-face (I can't remember anyone's name in this movie except for Willoughby). It's pretty clear she did it, but no one seems to care. Wtf kind of town is this?

As a smaller irritant, the fact that Cornish was a very young 21 years younger than Harrelson was just uncomfortable for me to see. She looked so, so young in comparison that, once I figured out that she wasn't his daughter, every interaction between them seemed like one where someone should be yelling 'bad touch, bad touch' in the background.

I guess what all of this is saying is that these things took me out of the movie. I couldn't manage to get immersed because every few minutes there was something that made me think "did they have to make that directorial choice?", which is not what you're supposed to be thinking when watching a movie, I don't think.

That said, Frances acted the hell out of it, and it was hilarious seeing Charlie's mom from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia essentially playing Charlie's mom moves to Missouri.

[Silver Raven]

This won Best Ensemble Cast, Best Female Actor, and Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role at the SAG Awards.

[SunnyBeBe]

I was just blown away after watching the trailer for this movie.  It sure gets your attention.  I ADORE McDormand, but, I'm not sure this move is for me.  Best of luck to her though. 

[Inquisitionist]

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 3:02 PM, afterbite said:

As a smaller irritant, the fact that Cornish was a very young 21 years younger than Harrelson was just uncomfortable for me to see. She looked so, so young in comparison that, once I figured out that she wasn't his daughter, every interaction between them seemed like one where someone should be yelling 'bad touch, bad touch' in the background.

This was a bigger irritant for me, so I love your comment!

[Ohwell]

I finally saw this yesterday.  It was just ok.  While I can see why it won Best Ensemble Cast at the SAG awards, I really had a difficult time feeling that much sympathy for McDormand's role as the grieving mother.  She was a colossal bitch.  She could have killed somebody when she torched the police station but, obviously, she didn't care.  I know she was angry at the police, but for all she knew there could have been innocent citizens in there.   Also, while those kids were being brats throwing something at her car windshield, I think she was way out of line kicking them and it wasn't funny.  If I were their parents I would have had her arrested for assault.  

Surprisingly, I was most impressed by Woody Harrelson's performance as Willoughby, even though Sam Rockwell is deserving of all his accolades as well.  Not impressed with Frances McDormand, with those same dead eyes I've seen in just about every movie of hers except Fargo.

[Browncoat]

Woody Harrelson has really grown as an actor, I think.  It's hard to believe Chief Willoughby used to be Woody Boyd, tending bar at Cheers.

[snickers]

On 12/18/2017 at 1:04 AM, double-elvis said:

I also have to mention how much I hated the relationship with the ex-husband. In the beginning of the movie it is established he has been both physically and verbally abusive to Frances McDormand’s character so much so that we actually get a scene with his hands around her neck and Lucas Hedges putting a knife to his throat to stop him and yet towards the end the ex is being played off for laughs and he is cowering towards her? No. It does not work like that. And his girlfriend was over-the-top stupid and unnecessary.

while i really liked this movie, I can agree with this....the ex husband was  a first class A hole

 

On 1/21/2018 at 4:02 PM, afterbite said:

It hit one of my big pet peeves, and that's the use of racist or offensive language when it doesn't necessarily seem to serve the story. I'm not quite sure what extra we gained from the repeated use of the n-word or r-word,

I see the point but we see this all the time in movies.....Quentin Tarantino anyone? and to me it KINDA fit the story given what was going on....I think to criticize the movie just for the offensive language is unfair given how SO MANY movies have offensive language

 

On 1/21/2018 at 4:02 PM, afterbite said:

The other thing that bugged is that there were absolutely no consequences. Rockwell's character pistol whips and throws a guy out of the window in front of half the town, including the incoming chief, and no one arrests him or makes it seem like he will ever be arrested.

Again i disagree, Rockwell might not have gotten arrested but he got fired, even after he sort of redeemed himself to the police department they didn't bring him back.....and his firing was justified....i don't think anyone would disagree with that...and i think what is making this movie so popular and why it is winning so many awards is because these things are true to life....some people do terrible things with no consequences

 

i thought this was one of the best movies that came out this year....while I think it might be monopolizing the awards like la la land did, i get why the critics are liking it....so much of it to me reflected on real life....and...i think McDormand deserved the oscar more than ronan.....i just wasn't that wowed by Lady Bird.....but......the movie I personally would like to see get best movie would be either shape of water or call me by your name(this movie needs to win more awards!)...though at this point i think this movie will get it, and i'm okay with that :)

Edited January 29, 2018 by snickers

[afterbite]

9 hours ago, snickers said:

On 1/21/2018 at 4:02 PM, afterbite said:

It hit one of my big pet peeves, and that's the use of racist or offensive language when it doesn't necessarily seem to serve the story. I'm not quite sure what extra we gained from the repeated use of the n-word or r-word,

I see the point but we see this all the time in movies.....Quentin Tarantino anyone? and to me it KINDA fit the story given what was going on....I think to criticize the movie just for the offensive language is unfair given how SO MANY movies have offensive language

It might surprise you to learn that I don't like those movies either. I'm not sure why the fact that it exists elsewhere means I can't dislike it here (and elsewhere)? Look, when the movie kept hitting the n-word hard in its dialogue, I could see black audience members shifting uncomfortably in their seats. It was not integral to telling the story and, in fact, was occasionally played for laughs. It's a type of storytelling I find to be lazy, going for shock over substance. I'm not saying we need to bowdlerize every single piece of media, but there are other ways to convey that someone is abrasive or racist or just generally an awful person without leaning on certain pejoratives. Movies don't have to exactly mimic the awfulness of real life and real people for us as viewers to understand. If that mimicry's purpose in the narrative doesn't outweigh the unpleasantness of its viewing for people who would like to watch a movie without having to have slurs hurled about that are generally hurled at them with malevolent intent in everyday life, then exercise a wee bit of imagination and find a way to make your character abrasive or racist or whatever without making at least part of your viewing audience physically uncomfortable.

But, like I said, it's my pet peeve.

[snickers]

And it might surprise you I’m in agreement that the language was unnecessary, just saying I GET why it was used...and it wasn’t overly used which was why I was semi ok with it...semi

 

three billboards is not a perfect movie, but I don’t think it deserves the backlash it is getting, I think call me by your name deserves to win best picture but I’ve accepted the fact this movie is gonna sweep  ...can’t wait to see what the haters say about that 

[Whimsy]

On 1/27/2018 at 5:05 PM, Ohwell said:

I finally saw this yesterday.  It was just ok.  While I can see why it won Best Ensemble Cast at the SAG awards, I really had a difficult time feeling that much sympathy for McDormand's role as the grieving mother.  She was a colossal bitch.  She could have killed somebody when she torched the police station but, obviously, she didn't care.  I know she was angry at the police, but for all she knew there could have been innocent citizens in there.   Also, while those kids were being brats throwing something at her car windshield, I think she was way out of line kicking them and it wasn't funny.  If I were their parents I would have had her arrested for assault.  

Surprisingly, I was most impressed by Woody Harrelson's performance as Willoughby, even though Sam Rockwell is deserving of all his accolades as well.  Not impressed with Frances McDormand, with those same dead eyes I've seen in just about every movie of hers except Fargo.

I just came here to basically say exactly this. Yes, I thought it was well acted but I couldn’t sympathize or even relate to one single person in this movie I thought Mildred was a selfish bitch and the police were horrible people. I like to have someone to root for and I hated all these people except Chief Willoughby, but even he was not all that great because he allowed his officers to be disgusting, racist assholes. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 12/10/2017 at 4:07 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Out of Martin McDonagh's work, I've only seen In Bruges before this (need to check out Seven Psychopaths), but I can already see that he has his own unique style of filmmaking and writing that I dig. 

I'd forgotten who directed Three Billboards when I saw it.  About halfway in, I thought, "This has to be Martin McDonagh."  Sure enough.

I see a lot of movies and forget a lot of things in them, but I'll never forget the opening scene in Seven Psychopaths.

[Brn2bwild]

Frances McDormand's performance was the best thing in the movie by far (second-place: Woody Harrelson) and elevated the movie as far as I'm concerned.  Otherwise, the more I think about it, the less I like it.  I liked Harrelson's character, but what was the point of him other than to very indirectly spur an abhorrent character to finally do the right thing?  His major contribution to the movie was essentially to troll a grieving mother. 

Wasn't a fan of Dixon at. all.  He was lazy, drunk, dumb, and mean until the script required him not to be.  Don't get me started on how we're supposed to forget that he locked up a woman for days (weeks?) at a time for a trumped-up marijuana charge while he wasn't even arrested for throwing someone out a window.  His redemption arc should have involved making it up to people like Mildred Hayes's friend, not Mildred herself.  Which brings me to:      

As great as McDormand was, I can't help but think how much better the film might have worked if her character had been black.  There would have been much greater symmetry in the racist cop teaming up with the grieving mother in the end.

[choclatechip45]

I thought it was really good, but I hated the ending. Sam Rockwell and Francis McDermott are really good.

[Bruinsfan]

On 11/26/2017 at 7:31 AM, wlk68 said:

I also appreciated that the DNA wasn't a match and that the story wasn't wrapped up with a nice neat bow. Unlike the movies, very rarely does that happen in real life so it was refreshing .to see.

 

On 12/15/2017 at 11:46 PM, snickers said:

And i have a different opinion on what they might have done had they actually reached that guy in the end...I think Mildred would have killed him once she saw him and recognized him

The big loose end for me is that if that guy wasn't Angela's killer, why the hell was he popping into a store to randomly threaten and terrorize a stranger from two states away when he clearly wasn't someone with ties to Chief Willoughby or fondness for the police in general? Either it's a huge plot hole that the writer and director overlooked, or he's the actual killer and people in high places are covering up for him.

 

Despite that, I think this is my pick for best film of the year. It hit me a lot more powerfully than even The Shape of Water, and I think Frances McDormand should be a shoo-in for Best Actress.

[Ohwell]

50 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

The big loose end for me is that if that guy wasn't Angela's killer, why the hell was he popping into a store to randomly threaten and terrorize a stranger from two states away when he clearly wasn't someone with ties to Chief Willoughby or fondness for the police in general? Either it's a huge plot hole that the writer and director overlooked, or he's the actual killer and people in high places are covering up for him.

That puzzled me as well.  I think the writers definitely screwed up with that one.

[methodwriter85]

There are sickos who get their jollies trolling grieving parents. Read up on Amy Billig, a 17-year old girl who disappeared in 1974. Some guy called up her mother for decades telling her he knew where she was and what had been done to her. I was actually pretty impressed with Warren from Empire Records- I had no clue it was him until I looked him up.

[Ohwell]

Like I said, the writers screwed up because, if he was trolling, it should have been addressed somehow. 

[Frost]

The scene that most horrified me was after the billboard guy was thrown out the window and was crawling in the street and Dixson casually stomped on him some more as he strolled back to the police station, and the next scene is Dixson sitting at his desk, taking care of his 'hurt' hand as other officers chat with him.  Talk about complicit!  Not a single officer made any effort whatsoever to address the situation.   Just business as usual.  That easy acceptance of evil freaks me out.

Edited February 19, 2018 by Frost

[Bruinsfan]

Yep. Were that fictional world to continue, I'd hope that the firebombing of the station would draw a lot more outside attention to that sheriff's department and force them to clean up their act.

[Inquisitionist]

Trust writer/translator Tim Parks to have a more critical view of Three Billboards:

Quote

... below the surface of this narrative, a deeper conflict is being waged: the fight of the liberal intelligentsia against the redneck, racist Trump voters of Missouri. (Or, perhaps, against the Brexit folk of northern England; where this story is set is merely a matter of commercial opportunity.) All of the sophistication of modern cinema, the extraordinary competence of modern acting and modern photography, is brought to bear on exposing the vulgarity of the conservative Midwestern provinces. It is not a fair fight. The seductive power of these images, and the powerful sense of reality they convey, covers up a thousand cheap coincidences and blatant manipulations of the story line. The people of Missouri, alas, cannot talk back to the director.

[Milburn Stone]

On 2/14/2018 at 5:33 PM, Bruinsfan said:

The big loose end for me is that if that guy wasn't Angela's killer, why the hell was he popping into a store to randomly threaten and terrorize a stranger from two states away...

This doesn't address your question directly, but at least they supplied a reason for him to be in the town. Namely, he had a friend there, the one he shared disturbing information with in the bar. That gave me permission to believe that he'd picked up enough information about Mildred while in Ebbing to be royally pissed off at her, especially if he's a guy who defaults to siding with "law enforcement." (A supposition that his top-secret background might support.) Then, on top of everything else, he apparently did commit some heinous crime against a young woman, and so would be disposed to identifying with whoever violated Mildred's daughter, which would pit him against Mildred.

Edited March 10, 2018 by Milburn Stone

[bijoux]

On 15. 02. 2018. at 12:33 AM, Bruinsfan said:

 

The big loose end for me is that if that guy wasn't Angela's killer, why the hell was he popping into a store to randomly threaten and terrorize a stranger from two states away when he clearly wasn't someone with ties to Chief Willoughby or fondness for the police in general? Either it's a huge plot hole that the writer and director overlooked, or he's the actual killer and people in high places are covering up for him.

My read of it was that he's a war criminal and he did just what he described to his buddy, only while he was deployed. And coming to Mildred like that got his sick engine running. I mean, it's not like I want Mildred and Dixon offing him for their sakes, but I wouldn't cry if they decided to go through with it. 

I was surprised by how much I loved this, because I was expecting slogging through it. But it really kept me on my toes and the characters always surprised me. Also, it was hilarious more often than not. I didn't have to come hold your ladder! And every sentence Penelope said being a question. :D

Basically, all the central characters were assholes. Dixon most definitely being a racist homophobe asshole. I actually expected a reveal of him being gay. Mildred completely stuck in her pwn head and refusing to see how everything was affecting her son. And finally Willoughby who decided to go out likean asshole. It's horrible what he did to his family. Also, Abbie Cornish as his wife really took me out of it. Mildred's ex with Penelope was acknowledged, I wonder why this never was. Then there's the fact that the last word she said to him was papa. Ooookay. 

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Red who really came off as too saintly to me. Why the hell would he be bringing Dixon juice after everything? The reactions of Mildred's friend and the guy who put up the billboards to Dixon getting pummeled were much more appropriate IMO. 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 11/25/2017 at 7:25 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Little grace note I loved was Red getting Dixon the OJ even after he found out who it was. And Penelope was responsible for the biggest laugh in the movie (to me) from Peter Dinklage, "Penelope used 'begets'?"

 

Well, it was also funny when Peter Dinklage said he was going to the little boys' room . . .

[hendersonrocks]

Finally watched this on a flight today (thanks, Delta!), and enjoyed it more than I expected to but still think there are some major issues with it. The good: Lucas Hedges did so much with so little; I think he is such a talent. Frances McDormand and her completely unexplained love for a blue jumpsuit uniform. Woody Harrelson, who I thought deserved the Oscar way more than Sam Rockwell. Cool Lester Smooth! I also enjoyed the ambiguity of the ending.

The not good: Abbie Cornish's inability to stick to one accent throughout the movie. JUST PICK ONE. Far more problematic to me, though, was how the black characters were written. It felt like they were there to be plot devices and make sure there were actually a few people of color in a movie that keeps talking about the problem of racist cops, but without actually spending any time on them. It just felt lazy and very incomplete to me. It also would have been nice for any one of the main characters to experience a single goddamned consequence for their actions at some point in the film. Like, does Peter Dinklage's story that Frances was with him really check off all the boxes for the police? Were they not curious about what was in Frances's backpack? Or any kind of forensics from those molotov cocktails or the advertising office where she threw them from? I mean, COME ON. 

[Bruinsfan]

To be fair, my impression was that the one LEO from that sheriff's office who was both competent and motivated had just blown his own brains out. Abercrombie might have thought burning that place to the ground was to the good given what he'd seen of the force and how it operated.

Edited March 18, 2018 by Bruinsfan

[SlovakPrincess]

Just rented this this week and it was well worth it for the acting.  And it was certainly engrossing.  

Although I don't agree with Mildred and Dixon's plan at the end ... hopefully they'll rethink it on the way to Idaho.  What if that guy is mentally ill, and his sickness is pretending he's done horrible things without actually doing them?  

 

A few other things that took me out of the film while watching:

- Abbie Cornish did a fine job in the film, but she was mis-cast.  It was like she wandered in from another movie, about beautiful British people.     

- I never understood what Penelope was doing with Charlie.  Surely she had other options.

- I cringed when the one black female character in the film had, as one of her very few lines, "you go girl!"   Also, she really didn't seem that bothered by the fact that she'd been held for days in jail on a trumped up drug charge, just eventually got out of jail and rushed right out to check on Mildred and her billboards.  A lot of the minor characters were well-written, but that poor actress got nothing to work with.

- Did Dixon actually torture a black prisoner in custody?  This was thrown around as an insult at Dixon, but was never resolved.  He clearly engaged in police brutality, but Mildred and a few other characters implied he'd done something particularly bad to someone who was black.  This is never explained even after Dixon starts trying to redeem himself.  

[Ohwell]

23 minutes ago, SlovakPrincess said:

- I cringed when the one black female character in the film had, as one of her very few lines, "you go girl!"   Also, she really didn't seem that bothered by the fact that she'd been held for days in jail on a trumped up drug charge, just eventually got out of jail and rushed right out to check on Mildred and her billboards.  A lot of the minor characters were well-written, but that poor actress got nothing to work with.

Well, I guess she got to go to the Ocsars?  That's all I got.

24 minutes ago, SlovakPrincess said:

- Did Dixon actually torture a black prisoner in custody?  This was thrown around as an insult at Dixon, but was never resolved.  He clearly engaged in police brutality, but Mildred and a few other characters implied he'd done something particularly bad to someone who was black.  This is never explained even after Dixon starts trying to redeem himself.

I didn't understand this either.  Seems like the writers dropped the ball.

[greyflannel]

On 12/17/2017 at 10:04 PM, sally-can-wait said:

I found this to be a bit of a mess. It felt like certain actors were acting in different movies. One scene was played for straight comedy while another was straight drama. It seems it was trying to hit that Coen Brothers sweet spot of perfectly weaving comedy, depravity and sadness but it missed the mark for me. I also have to disagree with the crowd because I did not feel the acting was as good as advertised. I know that Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell will probably get Oscar nods but neither transcended the character for me and I have seen both much better. I have also sadly come to the realization that I don’t care for Lucas Hedges which sucks because he is popping up in more and more movies and he ruins every scene I see him in.

I also have to mention how much I hated the relationship with the ex-husband. In the beginning of the movie it is established he has been both physically and verbally abusive to Frances McDormand’s character so much so that we actually get a scene with his hands around her neck and Lucas Hedges putting a knife to his throat to stop him and yet towards the end the ex is being played off for laughs and he is cowering towards her? No. It does not work like that. And his girlfriend was over-the-top stupid and unnecessary.

There was one bright spot for me though and that was Peter Dinklage’s speech at the dinner. Best scene of the movie imo.

Lastly, she just happened to have a fire extinguisher in her car? I saw this with a friend and we both mentioned how odd and random that was as we were leaving the theater.

Not really odd or random. It's a good idea. We've always carried one.

[Chaos Theory]

I just saw this on HBO and I really enjoyed it.  More then I thought I did.  It is exactly my kind of deeply dark with an edge to it.  McDormand has never been my favorite actress but I really uhhh “liked” her in this as a deeply angry woman who couldn’t get past the death of her daughter even to the detriment of her living son and her own life. Woody Harrison has always been hit and miss with me but he was fun in this and so was Sam Rockwell as a racist cop who might just have a heat in him after all.  I really liked the ending though and how it was left open on what would happen next would two angry people let out their anger on a person who deserves it? 

I also really like shows that use “adult” language.  People curse and when they say gosh instead of something harder that actually takes me out of the show.  When a racist person doesn’t use racist words it tends to take me out of the story.  I really thought Sam Rockwell’s character was especially loathsome but when he had to deal with a new black boss who immediately fired him that might have been worse then arresting him.  Plus it would have done the show no real good.

Also the arresting Mildred for burning down the police station would have changed the ending of the story and it was ultimately her story.  Plus soneobe gave her an alibi.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[DkNNy79]

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 8:24 PM, Frost said:

The scene that most horrified me was after the billboard guy was thrown out the window and was crawling in the street and Dixson casually stomped on him some more as he strolled back to the police station, and the next scene is Dixson sitting at his desk, taking care of his 'hurt' hand as other officers chat with him.  Talk about complicit!  Not a single officer made any effort whatsoever to address the situation.   Just business as usual.  That easy acceptance of evil freaks me out.

I was flipping channels and this was the exact scene that came up on HBO.  It horrified me and made my not want to watch the movie.  Not a fan of dark dramas.