Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri draws considerable attention. I hadn’t heard of the movie until it started gaining momentum. Although Three Billboards was a top contender to win Best Picture, The Shape of Water overshadowed it. Three Billboards is the more straightforward dramatic Oscar nominee with plenty of great performances. It’s extremely profane like writer/director Martin McDonagh’s previous films. McDonagh was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, though the story was loosely inspired by a real life woman who put up accusatory billboards. The titular three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri are put up by Mildred Hayes when her deceased daughter’s case goes unsolved for 7 months. The billboards read: “Raped While Dying,” “And Still No Arrests?,” and “How Come, Chief Willoughby?”
Three Billboards is as emotional as it sounds, but there are lighter moments. Frances McDormand more than earned her second Best Actress win as the determined mother on a mission. After his success in Manchester by the Sea, Lucas Hedges played another son from a dysfunctional family. John Hawkes plays Mildred’s abusive ex-husband and Samara Weaving plays the dimwitted 19 year old he’s dating. Kathryn Newton only briefly appears as the deceased Angela Hayes. Mildred faces scrutiny from the public, but mostly the incompetent police department. Woody Harrelson was nominated for playing the misunderstood Chief Willoughby who’s dying of cancer. Abbie Cornish doesn’t drop her Australian accent to play his wife.
Harrelson’s part is a quick, but memorable role that was outshined by his co-star. Character actor Sam Rockwell won Best Supporting Actor for playing the racist officer Dixon who goes through an unexpected transformation. Dixon is at first a complicated character who lives with his mother and is the most outspoken critic of the billboards that Red Welby is in charge of. This was actually one of two Caleb Landry Jones movies nominated for Best Picture in 2017. The other being Get Out. Even Peter Dinklage took a break from Game of Thrones to appear in the movie. Dixon and Mildred eventually end up on the same page, but whether or not justice is served is left ambiguous. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is more about the impact that three simple billboards can make.

Mildred Hayes promotes her three billboards