THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
A FILM BY MARTIN McDONAGH
We have all come across (or heard of) situations where we were faced with the incompetence of the system and our helplessness in those situations forced us to give up whatever we were fighting for. “Three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” is the story of a strong woman who faces the wrath of the entire system (and town) but still doesn’t give up. Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) is fighting the system to seek justice for her daughter who was raped and murdered. She gets fed up with the sheer incompetence shown by the police department in finding the culprit(s) who committed this heinous crime and decides to take matters into her own hands. What does she do? Mildred rents three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.
The billboards are painted red in color with black letters saying “RAPED WHILE DYING”, “AND STILL NO ARRESTS” and “HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?”. The red paint and black lettering are also significant to let the audience understand the brutality of the rape crime committed against a teenage girl. The entire town starts hating Mildred because she directly targeted Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), a man loved by everyone. But she was most hated by Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) who is a violent, racist and corrupt police officer.
The movie is about the struggles faced by this strong woman in her fight to seek justice for her daughter. It is also about the transition that Officer Jason Dixon goes through. Towards the end of the movie, we see Officer Dixon investigating on his own to find the criminals, even after being fired from the police department and suffering severe burns. From being a racist, corrupt and violent officer, we see him transition into (supposedly) an effective law enforcement officer and a good human being.
The strong performances by Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson and the brilliant direction by Martin McDonagh will surely keep you hooked to the movie. I would recommend that you watch “THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI”.
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Dear readers
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