Review: Three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Yesterday, I had a long discussion with a group of people I didn’t know, about refugees, wars, and politics. In a rare outcome, we all agreed that there are no easy answers; that something which feels right in specific cases is not necessarily so in larger context and vice versa.

Then I watched Three Billboards today, which reemphasized that conclusion but at the level of individual morality. It's a story about a mother, Mildred who, seeking justice for her daughter's rape and death, puts up billboards demanding answers from town chief Willoughby. A simple black and white premise? Not quite. Not because there is a wrong in every right but because different rights do not always play along. The tussle between Mildred, Willoughby and the townspeople makes up the rest of the story. 

Like McDonagh's previous offering In Bruges (a must watch), this is a dark comedy. There are scenes that turn from funny to tragic in a matter of seconds. There are impressive moments that make your heart melt. In one scene, Willoughby and Mildred are in a battle of words, he having the upper hand. Suddenly he coughs blood and her face is speckled with red dots. He apologizes profusely that he didn't mean it and she, her sternness now evaporated, says "I know, I know baby". There is a beautiful and heartbreaking monologue about death. Last time I was moved so much was by Walter White's speech in Breaking Bad about not wanting cancer treatment.

The performances are spot on. There is so much going on in this movie that your eyes are glued to the screen. In the end, the richly layered story left me with many questions to ponder-- what is fair, whether justice is worth the fight, and the very notion of justice. My little grouse is that Three Billboards spells out some things where silence would have been more impactful. It partly lacks the subtlety of In Bruges. Nevertheless, it is easily the best film of 2017 just for the range of emotions it evokes. Amazing.

****1/2