So I just read today that the Academy Awards may feature an award for "Best Popular Film" because there are some films that are apparently considered well done and well liked, but not worthy enough for the Best Picture category. To a degree I agree with this, but I don't think it is worth a separate category; a good example of something that was popular and successful and also very well done was Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and yes something very popular like The Avengers or Black Panther is not on the same field. However, a film like Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri is considered better than Black Panther (which it is not, and that is by a longshot), so basically the Academy is trying to stem the bleeding of their diminishing viewership by giving a pity award to films they consider less than worthy for the Best Picture category. Probably not the best marketing strategy, and it is apparently making all kinds of people "mad". Honestly, though; I could care less. So if you haven't seen Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri save yourself some time and don't. The film is about a single mother who lives in rural Missouri, and her daughter was raped and murdered. She is angry because so many months later no one has been apprehended or seemingly investigated, so she takes matters into her own hands. She rents 3 billboards and posts some messages targeting the local police chief into doing something more about her daughter's rape and murder. However, in.....cajoling the police chief into action, she becomes a target of the townspeople and some of the law enforcement who view her actions as a character assassination upon the police chief. She is threatened and told to back down, but she refuses despite all of the pressure facing her and other troubles that are continuing to mount. The stakes for Mildred (the main character) become so high that she risks doing things she never thought possible, and yet when faced with repercussions refuses to yield, apologize or acknowledge what she has done. Frances McDormand is an amazing actress and very talented, and in this film she is no different, which is probably one of the reasons she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. However, I do not care for her character, who believes in order to receive justice one has to break the law or bend it to the breaking point. She is a remarkably unpleasant woman, before and even more so after the death of her daughter, and there is very little redeeming about her character, but Ms. McDormand did an awesome job of playing her. Sam Rockwell, who is an incredibly talented actor that can do heavy drama and comedy, played essentially a racist cop, Dixon, who is all about protecting his chief and the force, rather than doing what is right morally, ethically, or legally. He is essentially the personification of what certain types of people stereotype the police force. His character is dreadful for nigh the entire film until he experiences a moment of ethical transformation and becomes an entirely different individual, which was interesting, but not nearly dwelt on enough unfortunately. He did win an academy award for his work, which I think was well deserved. Woody Harrelson played Willoughby the police chief who was essentially the sanity during the film as he tried to strike a balance between what was too far and too little regarding this whole unfolding set of events. He was a fascinating character, but I didn't care for how things ended up for him; it definitely should have been written differently. Peter Dinklage showed up as an interesting, but for some reason irrelevant character as he was barely fleshed out. It seemed as if his character was there simply because they wanted Peter Dinklage there, which would have been fine if his character was written better. The rest of the cast was fine, but nothing really memorable aside from the 3 leads.
Martin McDonagh directed the film, and considering all the previous dark films he directed I suppose the result of this film really shouldn't surprise me. I suppose he did well for what was wanted, but my biggest complaint would he the writing he did for the film. It wasn't atrocious per se, but it really came off as a very, very angry film with a horrendous ending; one of the worst endings I've seen in a long while. Carter Burwell composed the film score and somehow received an Academy Award for his work, although I cannot imagine why because it was boring, bland, and just plain bad. The cinematography by Ben Davis was pretty good, but very linear; the scope of the U.S. Midwest wasn't used effectively. So the verdict is, I have no desire to ever see this film again; I would give it no "stars" even though it won 2 academy awards. The ending was what really made me dislike this film. You know, if you sit through a really intense film that is dark and very dramatic, you really need a good ending, but this film provided the farthest thing from that. It's almost as if it was set up for a sequel, and I have a feeling the sequel would be far better. My suggestion; do not waste your time watching this film.Aside from films and the dreadful state of world and domestic affairs, it looks like I am finally going to be a full time staff member teaching and working in academics at the collegiate level, so I am beginning to get roots in California and settle down. Not bad after three years of nothing, and three years before that of hard work. Hopefully this isn't the calm before the storm, but one thing I've learned about life thus far is that nothing lasts; joy or hardship. So, be like Yoda and train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.
Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri clip
Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri trailer
