A new film by Martin McDonagh starring Frances Mcdormand, Woody Harrelson and Peter Dinklage? What could go wrong? Absolutely nothing. But I'll say right now, this film isn't for the faint of heart.
The Story - 10/10
The film follows Gertrude Hayes, a mother from the town of Ebbing, Missouri. Seven months prior to the films events, her daughter was raped and murdered and no arrests or progressions have been made into the case. In anger she puts up three billboards outside of the town. This causes a rift between her, the police department and the residents of Ebbing. What I love about this films story is how much of an emotional and humorous rollercoaster it is. One minute you could be laughing at a well placed dark humour joke, the next you could be emotionally conflicted and/or challenged the next, when essentially nothing changes. I love films that do that, it shows a very believable world that the film has created for the audience. Another thing that makes the world believable was how you can't tell what exactly is going to happen despite the fact the story is rather contained.
The Characters - 10/10
Frances McDormand plays Gertrude Hayes and she has probably given her best performance of her career. Even better than Fargo, which now that I think about it, had a rather similar tone to this film. She is a devastated, broken woman that we sympathise with at the very beginning and can admire. To say that she doesn't take crap from anyone is kind of an understatement. This is also where you feel a bit annoyed or disgusted by her as a character. As I said before your mood changes about everything in this film. The characters are not wholly good people but they aren't wholly bad either. They are people.
Woody Harrelson plays Chief Bill Willoughby. He is probably the character that you feel the most emotion for in the film. You view him as an indifferent lazy man in the beginning but you feel bad for thinking that way in the first place. As I said before, the beauty in these characters is how interchangeable they are. There was even one moment of his performance that even left me close to tears, but I don't cry that easily in films, so it may affect people a lot more than that.
Sam Rockwell plays Officer Dixon. He is easily the most detestable character in the movie, he is essentially the typical racist, misogynistic side of the police force down in the south. Then like the rest, your emotions completely change about his character. Like I said before it shows that people aren't black and white, they are shades of grey. This character has the most drastic yet somehow believable character arc of the film.
Also Lucas Hedges still sucks! I hated his performance in Manchester by the Sea and I didn't hate it here because thankfully he wasn't in that many scenes. So if he was though he would definitely have brought the score down significantly. He never made me believe that he was emoting and being dramatic.
The Drama/Comedy - 10/10
Martin McDonough is one the modern masters of dark humour and this film proves it. You just can't help but laugh at the jokes he throughs at you. McDonough is also a master of drama and this is also proves that statement. As I stated before, there were many moments where I was left teary eyed. It comes out all through the writing and the major imperfections of the character's plights. The fact that there isn't any clear villain or any clear hero makes this seem more human and believable. You are thoroughly invested throughout the drama that transpires with the characters.
Conclusion
This is easily Martin McDonough's best film and the best film of 2017. Please check this out and if you aren't into dark humour, challenging stories and characters. Check it out and step out of your comfort zone and support this because this will be a memorable experience for you.
I am giving this a perfect 10/10
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