Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
3/4
Starring: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Lucas Hedges, Abbie Cornish, Caleb Landry Jones, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage
Rated R for Violence, Language Throughout, and Some Sexual References
Perhaps the best word to describe Martin McDonagh's new film, which has the unwieldy title "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," is ambitious. This film attempts to: create a dozen or so multi-dimensional characters with their own strengths and weaknesses, solve a brutal murder, show a few romances, two mother-son relationships, straddle the line between comedy and tragedy, and teach a lesson about those left behind after death. It's a lot to do, especially considering the fact that the running time clocks in at a hair under two hours. While imperfect, McDonagh does achieve a lot of his aims.
Mildred Hayes (McDormand) is frustrated. Her daughter was raped and murdered, and her body was set on fire. Almost a year later, no arrests have been made. Mildred has had enough, so she rents out three billboards that call out Police Chief William Willoughby (Harrelson) for his inability to catch the killer. While the town is sympathetic to her plight, they are not pleased that she is sullying a good man's name. And Willoughby is a good man. He's a dutiful officer (with his own off-kilter style), a devoted father and a loving husband. And he understands Mildred's frustration and while hurt by the billboards, he's not angry at her. That's not the case with Jason Dixon (Rockwell), Willoughby's underling. Dixon is a nasty piece of work; he's an idiot and an all-around jerk. He intends to get the billboards down any way he can, violently if necessary.
The movie is far more interesting than I've made it out to be, I promise. That's because it's less about a civic dispute than the people surrounding it. McDonagh has created an array of interesting people, but he puts them in a story with very little narrative drive. The story, what one there actually is, seems to be stuck in neutral. And while the cast is talented and gives it their all, there are times when they come close to feeling like writer's constructs than actual people. The chasms between their good and bad sides are so dichotomous and ironic that it feels as McDonagh was calculating how to give them dramatic depth.
Fortunately, he has brought a stellar cast to bring them to life. No one could have played the role of Mildred except for Frances McDormand. It's the kind of feisty yet plucky gal that she plays so well. She switches from profanity-laced insults to tears in the blink of an eye, and never misses a beat. Just as good is Woody Harrelson. Initially, I feared that he would play another "blunt guy who is too macho to express himself" character that he done far too many times, but that fear was laid to rest before his first scene ended. Quite the contrary, Willoughby is warm and sympathetic. I wish he had more scenes. The strongest performance comes from the quirky Sam Rockwell, whose star has been on the rise for some time now, and will hopefully get the recognition he deserves. It isn't as transcendent as his performance in "The Way Way Back," but hopefully the Academy will realize their previous mistake and give him a long-deserved Oscar nomination. Able support is provided by a cast of talented character actors.
Many have pointed out similarities between "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and "Fargo." Strange as it sounds, it's an apt one. And not just because both star Frances McDormand. Both films veer between comedy and tragedy, have crime plots, and look at their characters as people inhabiting their slice of the world rather than pawns in a screenplay. However, when compared together, "Fargo" comes out ahead, and by quite a bit. McDonagh attempts a lot of what the Coens did in 1996, but he doesn't have their talent. When they mixed all these elements together, they struck gold. McDonagh isn't as successful. All the elements are there and to a degree McDonagh pulls them together. It's just that they don't gel all that well.
It is perhaps ironic that an Englishman made a movie set in America's heartland. But McDonagh knows what he's doing. He's a gifted writer and director of actors. He's also willing to take risks, even if they don't pay off. His first full-length film, "In Bruges," was an interesting film that was marketed as a twisted black comedy when it really wasn't. "Seven Psychopaths" was an ambitious misfire (if memory serves, I thought it was awful). Here, he's honed in his talents and made a film that, while not perfect, is worth seeing.
There's a lot of good stuff here and it's made by a man who knows what he's doing. It's just that a lot of it has been done better before.
Starring: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Lucas Hedges, Abbie Cornish, Caleb Landry Jones, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage
Rated R for Violence, Language Throughout, and Some Sexual References
Perhaps the best word to describe Martin McDonagh's new film, which has the unwieldy title "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," is ambitious. This film attempts to: create a dozen or so multi-dimensional characters with their own strengths and weaknesses, solve a brutal murder, show a few romances, two mother-son relationships, straddle the line between comedy and tragedy, and teach a lesson about those left behind after death. It's a lot to do, especially considering the fact that the running time clocks in at a hair under two hours. While imperfect, McDonagh does achieve a lot of his aims.
Mildred Hayes (McDormand) is frustrated. Her daughter was raped and murdered, and her body was set on fire. Almost a year later, no arrests have been made. Mildred has had enough, so she rents out three billboards that call out Police Chief William Willoughby (Harrelson) for his inability to catch the killer. While the town is sympathetic to her plight, they are not pleased that she is sullying a good man's name. And Willoughby is a good man. He's a dutiful officer (with his own off-kilter style), a devoted father and a loving husband. And he understands Mildred's frustration and while hurt by the billboards, he's not angry at her. That's not the case with Jason Dixon (Rockwell), Willoughby's underling. Dixon is a nasty piece of work; he's an idiot and an all-around jerk. He intends to get the billboards down any way he can, violently if necessary.
The movie is far more interesting than I've made it out to be, I promise. That's because it's less about a civic dispute than the people surrounding it. McDonagh has created an array of interesting people, but he puts them in a story with very little narrative drive. The story, what one there actually is, seems to be stuck in neutral. And while the cast is talented and gives it their all, there are times when they come close to feeling like writer's constructs than actual people. The chasms between their good and bad sides are so dichotomous and ironic that it feels as McDonagh was calculating how to give them dramatic depth.
Fortunately, he has brought a stellar cast to bring them to life. No one could have played the role of Mildred except for Frances McDormand. It's the kind of feisty yet plucky gal that she plays so well. She switches from profanity-laced insults to tears in the blink of an eye, and never misses a beat. Just as good is Woody Harrelson. Initially, I feared that he would play another "blunt guy who is too macho to express himself" character that he done far too many times, but that fear was laid to rest before his first scene ended. Quite the contrary, Willoughby is warm and sympathetic. I wish he had more scenes. The strongest performance comes from the quirky Sam Rockwell, whose star has been on the rise for some time now, and will hopefully get the recognition he deserves. It isn't as transcendent as his performance in "The Way Way Back," but hopefully the Academy will realize their previous mistake and give him a long-deserved Oscar nomination. Able support is provided by a cast of talented character actors.
Many have pointed out similarities between "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and "Fargo." Strange as it sounds, it's an apt one. And not just because both star Frances McDormand. Both films veer between comedy and tragedy, have crime plots, and look at their characters as people inhabiting their slice of the world rather than pawns in a screenplay. However, when compared together, "Fargo" comes out ahead, and by quite a bit. McDonagh attempts a lot of what the Coens did in 1996, but he doesn't have their talent. When they mixed all these elements together, they struck gold. McDonagh isn't as successful. All the elements are there and to a degree McDonagh pulls them together. It's just that they don't gel all that well.
It is perhaps ironic that an Englishman made a movie set in America's heartland. But McDonagh knows what he's doing. He's a gifted writer and director of actors. He's also willing to take risks, even if they don't pay off. His first full-length film, "In Bruges," was an interesting film that was marketed as a twisted black comedy when it really wasn't. "Seven Psychopaths" was an ambitious misfire (if memory serves, I thought it was awful). Here, he's honed in his talents and made a film that, while not perfect, is worth seeing.
There's a lot of good stuff here and it's made by a man who knows what he's doing. It's just that a lot of it has been done better before.
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