Martin McDonagh's "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

[scarlet-witch]

Update: This film was absolutely amazing. This, Lady Bird, and War for the Planet of the Apes are currently my top three of the year.

 

[Smilodon]

My review...

Spoiler

It's a really well made dark comedy about dealing with grief or a tragedy. I like how the movie starts out pretty black and white with the issue and you're on Frances McDormand's side despite her going nuclear. Then the movie changes little by little and you find out it's not as black or white as you think it is. Also when the movie gets dark, it really gets dark. Just like with the directors previous films (In Bruges or Seven Psychopaths), the comedy and tragic drama works side by side like chocolate & peanut butter. Performance wise, Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell were the standout stars. The entire cast was also terrific. Overall, it's great movie filled with great moments and it's one hopefully get some award recognition.

9/10

I had a lot of the same thoughts. When the movie goes for the emotional beats, it's as fierce as Mildred Hayes is. This film isn't so much funny as much as it absurdist and laughing through the tragedy of life sometimes. It caught me off guard multiple times with certain beats, which never overstay their welcome. Some are rather brief but you really get the whole picture. Frances McDormand deserves all the hype, as do Woody and Sam. But also a slight shoutout to Lucas Hedges, who is really going to tit for tat with Timothee Chalamet in terms of great films.

Great film. The film faces stiff competition for awards, but big props to Fox Searchlight for arming themselves with this and Shape of Water, which I hope to see very soon.

 

[MadderMaximus]

Loved it, Frances has my support for this year's Oscar race. Martin too for his screenplay.

 

[Lasirius]

Update: This film was absolutely amazing. This, Lady Bird, and War for the Planet of the Apes are currently my top three of the year.

These are my top 3 films as well.

 

[3rdstone]

This was bloody awesome. The end might be divisive to some people, but we've seen some unexpected turns by that time. McDormand is always solid, but I really hope she gets some nods at these various awards 'cause of this. Rockwell was better than ever too.

A great movie which I highly recommend.

 

[harlequinade]

It's a shame Dafoe will win because of 'overdue' narrative over Rockwell whose performance is immeasurably better than Dafoe's

 

[Poppy]

Loved it, Frances has my support for this year's Oscar race.

I really hope Frances wins. She gave one of the best perfomances I've seen (better than Saoirse in Lady Bird).

This was bloody awesome. The end might be divisive to some people, but we've seen some unexpected turns by that time. McDormand is always solid, but I really hope she gets some nods at these various awards 'cause of this. Rockwell was better than ever too.

A great movie which I highly recommend.

I understood the choices of the movie, but the end made me frustrated for sure. I wish they had given us more answers.

 

[Pink Ranger]

So glad this movie is getting its props, but still, I'm slowly leaning towards the side of not liking the ending. I don't disagree with the premise of it per se, but in terms of being unexpected, it was REALLY unexpected I feel, like it hadn't been justified by the story at a thematic or narrative level at that point.

Spoiler

For example, Dixon pretty much lost everything at that point, so his motivation made sense. Still, would have liked to see him commit one last random act of stupid violence after his "reformation," to show that his dark nature is never going away, and is just being redirected. Gives more context to this decision at the end, and more moral ambiguity to it.

Now Mildred's fate is the one I have a real problem with. The story didn't set her up to realistically do something incredibly illegal and somewhat morally questionable at that point. At this point in the story, she's a less righteous and more morally gray character, but it didn't go far enough to show how far gone she was at that point. Like maybe she finally said something unforgiveably mean to her son, or to Peter Dinklage or something.

 

[mclay18]

I saw this the other day. Really impressed by Frances McDormand here, you still empathize with her even though she's a morally gray character. Rockwell and Harrelson were also very good, but McDormand is the cement holding the film together.

I agree with Pink Ranger's comments about the ending.

Spoiler

I feel that Mildred's character needs some kind of closure, I'm not a big fan of how her and Dixon's characters' fates are just left open-ended. Maybe McDonagh will do a sequel?

McDormand deserves some Oscar love for this film.

 

[Doctor Jones]

At the end when

Spoiler

they were driving down the road, did anyone else besides me think that deer that Mildred saw earlier in the movie was going to come out and hit them and they'd crash and die, thus never completing their objective but dying together when they finally reached some form of common ground?

 

[OutOfBoose]

Sam Rockwell's character was the biggest surprise.

McDormand was incredible in the role.

Agree with people here about the ending.

 

[harlequinade]

At the end when

Spoiler

they were driving down the road, did anyone else besides me think that deer that Mildred saw earlier in the movie was going to come out and hit them and they'd crash and die, thus never completing their objective but dying together when they finally reached some form of common ground?

What a terrible and stupid ending that would be.

 

[Doctor Jones]

What a terrible and stupid ending that would be.

Oh, it is. It's just strange how my mind jumped to that.

 

[RockSP]

Watched this film for the first time the other day. Went in knowing almost nothing about it other than Rockwell got an Oscar for it. When I saw that Rockwell, Harrelson, and Amanda Warren were all in it, my mind immediately went to Seven Psychopaths and I was pretty sure it was the same director. Looked it up to confirm and saw that he directed In Bruges as well. So now he's definitely a guy whose films I'll be looking forward to.

Didn't have the problem with the ending some of the people in this thread had. I'm curious if those of you who felt that way still feel that way a few years later.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Watched this film for the first time the other day. Went in knowing almost nothing about it other than Rockwell got an Oscar for it. When I saw that Rockwell, Harrelson, and Amanda Warren were all in it, my mind immediately went to Seven Psychopaths and I was pretty sure it was the same director. Looked it up to confirm and saw that he directed In Bruges as well. So now he's definitely a guy whose films I'll be looking forward to.

Didn't have the problem with the ending some of the people in this thread had. I'm curious if those of you who felt that way still feel that way a few years later.

I definitely get the critiques directed towards the ending. It definitely could have used more dramatic justification for Mildred's decision. But overall I still back it. Giving a sense of closure to Mildred would have been a mistake, IMO. She's effectively rejected closure, allowing her grief and need for vengeance to become the driving force of her life. And even though she knows it will never be resolved, she holds on anyway. That's what sends her down the road with Dixon, leaving the last hopes at a satisfactory ending behind with Peter Dinklage and her son.

Made me think though - I really need to watch this again.