Step right up Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell and please just accept your Oscar’s for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor already. Yes, truly they are that good and that’s how I feel. And hey, throw in a Best Picture nod while you’re at it please!!!
This wonderfully dark comedy featuring a brash, outspoken and very funny McDormand in the lead role as Mildred Hayes, a divorcee from Ebbing, Missouri and let me tell you, Mildred is one extremely pissed woman at her local Police Department. Most especially Sherriff Willougby (Woody Harrelson), and she is not afraid to let everyone know this as she rents out 3 billboards on the outskirts of town at $5000 a month from Red Welby (Caleb Landry Jones). The way Mildred see’s it is it’s been seven months since her teenage daughter Angela (Kathyrn Newton) was raped, murdered and set ablaze on a quiet stretch of country road, and yet still no arrests have been made or suspects identified. Mildred and many others in the town, feel as the local Sherriff’s dept. are “too busy torturing black folk”. And she’s right as Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) has been investigated for doing just that. Sheriff Willoughby however, doesn’t much like being publicly mocked by billboards that read: “Still No Arrests?” “How Come, Chief Willoughby?” and “Raped While Dying.” 
And the story that unfolds before you is one that will capture every emotion you thought you never had. This is a hard -edged drama, but with enough sarcastic comedy in it to somehow keep it funny through a dark subject throughout the film. This film is a brilliant piece of storytelling that somehow has stories within that all fit together in the end in a 360 degree type circle.
McDormand is simply superb as the mother whose anger is just part of her problems in life. She breaks this character down inch by inch in front of us in such detail you are sure not to forget her anytime soon. Rockwell – who let’s face it, can be very ‘hit or miss’ with his performances, here he is so crazy good and volcanically funny that you want to almost applaud whenever he shows up, as he somehow he makes Dixon both horrendous and humane – sometimes both in a same breath – it is truly a tremendous performance. Harrelson is wonderful, yet sarcastic, a bit vulgar and yet even in the face of death, funny. Peter Dinklage as James, the town’s only ‘small person’, Lucas Hedges in another fine performance as Mildred’s son Robbie and John Hawkes as the ex-husband, truly round up a great supporting cast. The only true problem I had any of this cast was with Harrelson’s wife Penelope (Samara Weaving) as the being 1/2 his age part wasn’t the only blur, but how in the world is an Australian somehow in this little backwoods town of Ebbing, Missouri. Besides that, it truly is a flawless picture by Martin McDonagh and not only my favourite film of the year so far, but hopefully a shoe-in for a couple of those Oscars!
Grade: A
@pegsatthemovies
Media Screening Review: Monday, November 6, 2017 ~ Courtesy of Fox Searchlight
“THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI” is now playing nationwide // International release in Jan 2018
Peggy at the Movies 
And a best screenplay nod as well. I definitely loved this one, so , so much.
Very true.. don’t know why I didn’t add that one in. I seriously loved this so so much. I’m glad I’m not alone in this! 🙂
Have you seen the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War?
Yes I have. While I’m an X-Men kinda girl – it does look fairly interesting. I mean they are all basically the same plot – it’s how well that plot is done. 🙂
I am hoping to revisit this film again this week. While I enjoyed it, I had some issues with how fast it humanized Dixon by the end, and the lack of consequence for Mildred’s actions at the station. Despite these qualms I have to admit that the dialogue and performances are great.
I get that. For me on Dixon – you saw how he basically re-evaluated his life after the fire, which he well knew Mildred had started and why – that’s why I loved it so much – it did a complete 360 round turn from beginning to end. Starting off with how angry and bitter they all were – and while Dinklage might have been Mildred’s alibi – everyone knew she did it, but they also knew why and in an odd way, that made it justifiable. Remember, she only meant to burn it down, she didn’t know Dixon was in there. But because of what happened to him, it made him see what a nasty human he was and he actualy wanted to change and prove he wasn’t that person and that Harrelson’s Sherriff was actually right about him – he wasn’t as bad as he seemed to be. In the end, those two coming together brought the close to the circle of hate and pain. That’s my take at least! 🙂
Still need to see this. Hopefully by the weekend. Lots of interesting components to it.