Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)'s comments

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kzer_za

It's overwritten to the point of absurdity and self-parody. The cast saves it though, kind of.

6 years 3 months ago

I can see that this will be very unpopular, but the script lacked subtlety and was not a "work of genius." If you're not firmly on the political left, you may be more sensitive to the poorly transcribed political rants that come straight from the lips of the screenwriters in the form of monologues in the film. Mildred constantly spits words that sound like they came right out of the mouth of a freshly indoctrinated ivy league leftist who has never encountered a position other than radical leftism. To a conservative, it's painfully obvious. This movie is not poorly written, but it is no work of genius either. The worst example is Mildred's banishing of the priest in her house--she rants about group identity, comparing the Catholic pedophilia scandal to Crisp / Bloods gang warfare and "justifying" the hard-left notion of collective guilt. The movie was well-acted and funny, but I found it flawed by an obvious political bias and a lack of restraint...

6 years 1 month ago

ikkegoemikke

“Raped while Dying.
Still no arrests.
How come, chief Willoughby?”

Those who read my writing attempts occasionally, know that I thoroughly hate everything that has the appearance of a serial or when prequels and sequels are being produced just to exploit the story even further. So, don’t panic while reading the following statement. I hope they’ll come up with a sequel to “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri“. A continuation of this brilliant story where we’ll learn how Mildred (Frances McDormand) and Dixon (Sam Rockwell) handle the case. I am sure that this film will be difficult to surpass in its genre. And not because of some amazing special effects or action-packed film sequences. But because of the ingenious story and the unparalleled acting. And even though the story is filled with ultra-serious issues such as discrimination, domestic violence, cancer, sexual abuse and murder, there’s also a subtle comic layer that is saturated with blackened humor and finished with cynical and ironic elements. This is so up my alley.

“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” is about anger, rage and helplessness. The anger about an unsolved case with Angela, the daughter of Mildred, being raped and burned alive by one or more unknowns. And after several months Mildred has come up with the bright idea to denounce the failure of the judicial investigation. And this by unabashedly spreading the message about it, on three billboards with Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) as main target, solely because of his leading position as Chief. But it’s not only anger and revenge you’ll be witnessing in this magnificent film. Forgiveness is also included. Like the moment during a police interrogation in which Mildred feels genuinely concerned about Willoughby’s health. I was also surprised when Red Welby (Caleb Landry Jones), the owner of the advertising billboards, offers Dixon a glass of orange juice. Two moments in which blind anger made room for compassion.

Even though Woody’s name is written on the billboard in huge letters, his contribution isn’t really decisive. To my surprise, he also gets out of the picture halfway through the film. In the first place it’s Frances McDormand who demands the most attention. And she does that in a stunning way. A bitter woman who’s tired of waiting for an arrest. Mildred is under the assumption that no effort is made by the corps to follow any clue or performs real police work. In her eyes, the police officers are a group of racist dipshits who spend their days harassing Afro-American fellow citizens. She’s a tough lady who firmly tackles those who get in her way, both verbally and physically. And she spares nobody. Whether it’s a priest or a dentist. She isn’t even afraid to kick some young students in their crotch. And even though she appears to be an unpleasant person with a sharp tongue, she manages to arouse your sympathy. The sometimes dry, humorous remarks take care of that. Frances McDormand may rightfully become the owner of the coveted statue during the Academy Awards in a few months’ time.

And such a golden statue can also be reserved for Sam Rockwell. His acting is simply magisterial. Dixon is an aggressive hillybilly who likes to beat up minorities and appears to be drunk constantly while doing his job as a policeman, knowing it’s tolerated by his superior. A not so quite intellectual overweight man. And Dixon’s stupidity sometimes creates comical situations. And finally there’s Woody Harrelson. An actor after my own heart (whom had stolen it already because of his participation in the sitcom “Cheers“) who always plays his roles with so much flexibility and professionalism. In contrast to the confused and sometimes cruel character from “The Glass Castle“, Chief Willoughby is an honest person who’s sincerely worried about the case of Mildred’s daughter. All in all, these are three parts that are played in an excellent and marvelous way by these actors. This film is already commendable because of that.

But it is also the intelligently written script that makes this film worthwhile. It’s indeed a film full of heavy themes. The injustice in this world and how people deal with it. The processing of an immense grief. And there are also uncomfortable moments full of aggression and threats. And yet there is always a laconic undertone that is peppered with thoughtful, ambiguous humor. And these different moods alternate at breakneck speed. Some scenes change from aggressive and threatening, into humorous and emotional. “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” is a gem of a film I’ve enjoyed tremendously. And believe me, I’m looking forward to seeing it once more.

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6 years 3 months ago

armyofshadows

In reply to richardjenkins28, who I'm sure is veeeeeery open minded to ideas that challenge his own, what I said in so many words is, the film speaks to a certain audience. Not everything is a political screed, but this movie was. For this reason, the dialogue did not sound natural. Some of it was very good, especially the scenes that were actually integral to the plot and the facts, but several other, duller scenes come to mind as being very flawed because they were poorly-disguised soap boxes. These scenes lacked SUBTLETY. Mcdormand's character was human one moment, and a tool used as a mouthpiece the next. The film was flawed. You accuse me of wearing a tinfoil hat. I'll return a condescending insult back then. You clearly judge books (and comments, and films) by their covers.

6 years ago

CSSCHNEIDER

This film did not for for me at all. Overly reverse engineered, childish claptrap. This is not good screenwriting, this is something else entirely.

6 years 2 months ago

Leonard1168

Volcánica,retorcida, muy retorcida. Un torbellino de giros que te arrastran a querer a aquel personaje que 15 minutos antes odiabas con toda tu alma. Un humor negro burbujeante y explosivo. Inteligente y revulsiva. Impresionante guion que posee, la poco usual, habilidad de escapar a los lugares comunes.

6 years 3 months ago

5 years 1 month ago