My Review of 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a hell of a title for this movie. It's long and I didn't know what to make of it. The title of the movie pretty much tells you what the whole movie is all about. There were three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. It's funny how the three billboards were essentially a character in this movie.

These billboards were basically empty unadvertised billboards until Mildred, played by Frances McDormand, decides to place an ad on them. Her ads are really controversial because of her backstory and the fact that they focused on the town hero, officer Willoughby, played by Woody Harrelson.

Mildred had lost her daughter a year ago. Her daughter was viciously raped and burned to death. Unfortunately, the police had yet to find the perpetrator. To get the police to become more active in getting her daughter's case solved, Mildred decides to place the ads on the three billboards. This proves dangerous because of the power that the police have over the town.

The ads on the three billboards become a character because they cause a chaotic chain of events that are just wild and crazy. It really keeps you on your feet because you just can't predict what's going to happen next in this movie. All of the characters have such distinct personalities that don't quite interact well with one another, and with each chain of events a relationship time bomb erupts.

There are a ton of very interesting characters in this small town and because it's a small town everyone is somewhat interconnected and know one another. Despite the fact that everyone knows everyone, Mildred is a mom bent on finding her daughter's killers and will do anything to get to them. This includes getting into trouble herself. Slowly the film peels away at her past and reveals why she's the way that she is.

Frances McDormand could not have done a better job as Mildred. She's tortured but defiant throughout the movie. You know that she won't back down from any fight and that's where some of the tension comes from. There's several moments where I thought that she was going to get into the craziest trouble but somehow she'd get away or there'd be an unpredictable situation that came through that stalls the moment.

In fact, there's a ton of great performances in this movie. I particularly liked Sam Rockwell's Dixon character. He's a guy that no one can like but in this movie they turned it around on me and made me have sympathy for him. There's a few characters that have a transformation throughout the movie. We grow as we watch these characters grow.

There's a ton of characters that you'll just want to hate but end up loving them. I love that about this movie. It really keeps you on your toes and all the characters are multi-dimensional. At times you really feel like you're actually in Ebbing, Missouri and you're just a fly on the wall listening in on the crazy stuff going on.

Interestingly, I don't even know what kind of movie this is. It can be incredibly funny, dramatic, mysterious and it even has elements of a thriller. Whatever it is, I have to say it's definitely a great movie and I'm glad that I got to watch it. In today's age of movies with special effects and big action it's kind of refreshing to see a movie that doesn't to be loud.

Overall, I would say that this movie was the best time I've had watching a movie with no special effects in a long time. Don't let the trailer or the title fool you. It is not a boring movie. There's so much substance in this movie that I think I'd watch it again. This movie relies on the acting, great storytelling and fantastic dialogue. They should make movies like this more often. I'll have to give this movie a 9 out of 10. I really think more people should see this movie.