Does the 90th Academy Award Best Picture frontrunner live up to all the award hype and buzz? Or is it just smoke and fire?
Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri has a flair for the dramatic. Months after the death and rape of her daughter, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) is still unsatisfied with the work of the police in solving the case. So she does what anyone would do (would they?) and puts up three billboards. The billboards read “Raped While Dying,” “And Still No Arrests?,” “How Come, Chief Willoughby?” Hayes and her son, played by Lucas Hedges (he is in everything nowadays, he’s going places!), get ridiculed for her desperate attempt by the town and even the police department, which includes Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), who is just doing his best and someone everyone loves because it is WOODY, and Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), who is just racist and sexist for no reason besides the fact that they live in Missouri, I guess. [caption id="attachment_6285" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
(photo cred: ms en scene)[/caption]
Besides the main plot, there is dark, dramatic moment after dark, dramatic moment along with attempts of comedy that aren't PC friendly. It's Oscar bait, so it's not surprising that Billboards is a big contender for the Best Picture award and has been winning other awards in similar categories.
Does it deserve it? I'm not sure. The movie felt rather slow to me -- when it wasn’t being overly dramatic. It didn’t pick up until the second half and ended with a bunch of loose ends tied together, included a strong and random redemption arc. The ending was, I guess, realistic and bleak, like the film -- even though the billboards themselves were great.
Frances McDormand was fantastic as the desperate mother while also being not the most sympathetic character. She was perfectly human and flawed. Her rage shines through. Her performance was definitely the strongest element of the film for me, and if she takes home the Best Actress award, she deserves it. Woody Harrelson is always great, and I think he deserves more of the recognition that Sam Rockwell is getting. But that’s life. Rockwell does a good job playing racist and dim-witted. But his character isn't developed beyond that, which could be seen as an achievement for some.
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Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell (photo cred: vox)[/caption]
Three Billboards isn’t my favorite film of this award season, but underneath all of it, there is a dark and unsettling story that isn’t far from what happens every day in real life. That honest portrayal is a winner in itself.
