With such a stunning cast, perfect folksy small-town background music, and the setting of tension, this film knocks it out of the park. Caleb Landry Jones, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage all make amazing appearances throughout the film, and there is a particularly amazing appearance, though short, of Kathryn Newton, Mildred’s dead daughter, in a flashback. He’s the kind of cop that skates under rules and manages to continue harassing normal citizens. Sam Rockwell is Harrelson’s protege of sorts but not a great cop by any means and certainly lacking in personality as well. It felt like a great representation of what people see and deal with in regards to police, but also the frustrations that come from being one of those good officers dealing with all the spite.įrances McDormand shines in her role of a mama bear and bounces well off of Woody Harrelson as the chief of police. It is particularly prevalent in the small town when there’s even more of the casual, can-do-whatever-they-want, “good ole boys club” attitude. But as a citizen, I also know there are police who abuse their power in regards to certain others.
I know there are good police out there, who care about protecting citizens and doing right by everyone. The relationship with the police is a great representation of how I feel towards them.
While the tension is set quickly, it builds well throughout the film and kept me questioning who had done it? Would we get to find out? How will this all end? And I certainly got those questions answered and then some. In the mix is the clearly high tension relationship of the citizens with the police, particularly set in this era where police behavior is being carefully watched regarding actions against African American citizens. Especially when the poor man is dying from pancreatic cancer. The chief, played by Woody Harrelson, is desperate to get his own answers, but what he really doesn’t need is town getting all riled up. The folksy music sets the stage of the small-town life that inhabits Ebbing, Missouri and why the use of these signs ends up causing mayhem. Answers continue to elude the police a year after the crime with Mildred grasping at straws to get any information. She wants to know who raped and killed her daughter. Mildred Hayes is a woman who wants answers. The primal urge of a momma bear drives McDormand throughout the film and it is no wonder that she won the Academy Award For Best Actress for it. Looking at the cast was enough to get me on board, particularly Frances McDormand who plays the main character Mildred Hayes, who wants answers to what happened to her daughter, Angela. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was one of those movies that flew enough on my radar that I knew I should watch it, but not enough to know anything about it.