This past weekend thanks to
my Movie Pass Card I was able to see the critically acclaimed, and likely
Academy Award contender, film from Fox Searchlight Pictures Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,
Missouri is the latest film from writer and director Martin McDonagh, a
filmmaker whose unique dark comedic style gave us In Bruges & Seven
Psychopaths. What Three Billboards
has mostly in common with McDonagh’s previous work (other than returning cast
like Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish and Sam Rockwell) is the type of characters
found in the film. The story, while still filled with dark comedy, seems more
mature than his previous work.
Three Billboards is the story of how
Mildred Hayes (played by Academy Award Winner Frances McDormand), being fed up
with the lack of activity on the case of her daughter Angela Hayes, decides to
purchase advertising time on three billboards that stand along a road near her
home. Angela, less than a year prior, was raped and murdered via being burned
alive. The billboards are posted to show in sequence the following: “Raped
while dying”, “And still no arrests”, “How come, Chief Willoughby?”
The
Chief Willoughby being the Chief of Police for the town is played by Woody
Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes)
is not just some ancillary character to the plot. Willoughby’s character is a
fully formed person who, like all of the characters in this film, has his own
problems. While he is well respected by his fellow officers, as well as the
community, Chief Willoughby is also dealing with terminal cancer, which does
actually play into how and why the town has so much sympathy for him. That
being said, some of the town actually does side with Mildred. The thing is this
town, much like many towns in America today, has a problem with officers that
act above the law and does such things as beat black kids because the officers
“know they are guilty.” The officer most known for this is Dixon (played by Sam
Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths alum).
Dixon
is what you would call a “good ole’ boy.” These kind of people are usually
found in the southern US and because of their familial connections in the
community, every time they commit a heinous act the powers that be respond,
“He’s alright, he’s a good ole’ boy.” As such, they never get in trouble for
anything. At one point Officer Dixon breaks into a building via breaking a
window, pistol whips a man, throws said man out a two-story window, then palm
punches that man’s secretary. This act is witnessed by most of the town and no
one does anything to Dixon until a specific plot point in the film. But don’t
worry, you are not supposed to like Dixon at this point. To be honest I am not
sure if the audience is ever really supposed to like Dixon or any character at
all in the film.
While
Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell are the stars of the film
and do turn in the most powerful and memorable performances, Three Billboards is filled with quality
and recognizable talent in almost every role. Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage plays the town midget who has a
crush on Mildred and not only helps her in her time of need, but also delivers
a strong monologue that essentially sums up the idea of the film. From HBO’s Deadwood and films like Winters Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene comes John Hawkes playing Mildred’s abusive
ex-husband and ex-cop Charlie. Caleb Landry Jones from this year’s hit Get Out plays Red, the advertising agent
that rents the billboards to Mildred and receives no end of strife from Mildred
and the local authorities. Seven Psychopaths
alum Abbie Cornish plays Anne, the wife of Harrelson’s Chief Willoughby. The Wire star Clarke Peters plays a an
out of town officer who comes in to really shake things up by not tolerating the
good ole boy mentality of the town nor the station’s number one screw up Dixon.
Lucas Hedges of last year’s Manchester by
the Sea is the surviving child of Mildred and Charlie who has to deal with his
not only the loss of his sister but also the harassment of students at school
who are disgusted with the billboards. And finally, Supernatural reoccurring actress Kathryn Newton (she plays Castiel’s
daughter Claire) has one incredibly powerful and telling flashback scene as Angela
the daughter of Mildred who was raped and murdered.
While
there is a clear and well-presented plot and story in Three Billboards, this is the kind of film that is more about
concept and character study. None of these characters are wholly good people
and none of them are wholly bad. They are just people trying to get by, just
like the characters you will find in your daily life. While this is certainly
far from a “feel-good” flick, McDonagh’s writing and directing is able to
balance out the tragedy and drama with a bit of comedy as these very realistic
characters say and do realistic yet absurd things. While Three Billboards carries a lot of weight and pathos, it never feels
too heavy and is never not entertaining; a sure sign of being a contender for
awards season.
Three Billboards doesn’t tell a story of
vengeance or triumph of the justice system. There are moments in the film where
the audience is given hope for vengeance and justice, but as in real life those
hopes are dashed away. Instead we are left with characters that are broken in
their soul and knowing that they cannot get what they want or even deserve,
will take what they can get.
0 comments :
Post a Comment