Skip to main content

Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri - Movie Review

Posted by Anonymous on
Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri - Movie Review
Directed by Martin McDonagh
A gut wrenching, saddening and intense tale following the themes of murder, rape, revenge
and suicide that will have you on the edge of your seat for the entirety of the movie. This film
seamlessly combines raw realism with black comedic undertones so that the change between
a viewer bearing a sombre smile and a sweaty claw-like grip on their armrest is a frequent but
startling occasion. Yet, the movie manages to do this without being so abrupt as to take you out
of the action - an impressive feat in its own right. Moments of anger, hopelessness, terror, pity,
forgiveness and sorrow are intertwined within this magnificent one hundred and fifteen minute
masterpiece.

 The plot revolves around Mildred Hayes, who's teenage daughter (Angela) was raped and
murdered seven months prior to the events of the film. Due to a lack of progress made by the local
police department, Mildred decides to rent-out three derelict billboards that stand just outside her
hometown, Ebbing. These billboards read:
“RAPED WHILE DYING”
“AND STILL NO ARRESTS”
“HOW COME CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?”
Directed mainly at the police department’s chief - Bill Willoughby, the beginning of the story focuses
on Ebbing's reaction to these new messages and the effect they have on Mildred and those closest
to her.

 While the driving force of the film is the mystery behind Angela’s killer, the story’s underlying
message focuses on much more; race relations, police brutality, law enforcement, depression and
grief - allowing for an intriguing, nail-biting experience. This film has my full recommendation as it
portrays many current-day social issues while still retaining a riveting narrative that will have you
engaged right up until its final moments.      

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Image

Short Stories: WHERE IS DANIEL?

The time was an early morning in the winter of 1941. Falling snow packed onto the hard  labourers  of Gulag  10 WLA as they begin setting off into the mines and factories somewhere in the far east. Malnourished, mistreated and muddy, the inhabitors of this typical Gulag were kept under strict control of General Victor, who gave harsh punishments to any prisoner who dared riot or worse, insult the government.   It was a normal evening. The prisoners were escorted back to the Gulag through the freezing taiga by cattle carriages. They waited in line for their daily rations: Rubbery potatoes, dried bread and lime water. If one behaved well and boasted high production, he/she would sometimes be rewarded with a small knob of fresh corn, a snack the guards would gladly feast on. General Victor was feasting on a large chicken when Archie, or formally, Guard Number One burst into his room reporting misbehaviour between two prisoners. Ben (Guard Number Two) and Mile...
Image

A LITERARY CRITIQUE OF THE WHALE RIDER, BY WITI IHIMAERA

Witi Ihimaera,  The Whale Rider —International Edition  (Reed Publishing, 2003), pp. 154. Ihimaera is arguably the most influential Maori author in existence, publishing the first collection of short stories by a Maori writer called  Pounamu Pounamu  in 1972. The following year, he followed suit by being the first Maori to author a novel— Tangi.  However, his  magnum opus  is indubitably his 1987  The Whale Rider.  Fifteen years later the film adaption was released, with the eminent Niki Caro as the supervising director and Keisha Castle-Hughe's entrancing performance as the protagonist. As one commentator accurately observed, "A film so specific to one area, and grounded so firmly in New Zealand and Maori culture, has enthralled audiences from different countries partly because of the universal theme of heroic triumph over adversity, but mainly because of Castle-Hughes' and [Rawiri] Paratene's stunningly natural and utterly convincin...
Image

Book Review - The Eyeball Collector by F.E.Higgins

The Eyeball Collector  by F.E.Higgins is a fictional adventure book. The book has many Victorian England features including the settings (however it isn't known as England) and the clothing. It is about a vengeful boy named Hector. After his family was blackmailed he sought out. Hectors family is interested in lepidoptery; collecting, studying and observing butterflies and moths. Hector used to live a privileged and rich life. As Hector journeys on seeking vengeance, he faces many dark twists and turns on the way. He is continuously filled with dread and disgust at what some people may do. He follows the culprit to Withypitts Hall, a forbidding mansion as warped as its inhabitants and their secret schemes. The ones he holds close to him all warn him not to take this path of revenge however he is consumed by vengeance and ignores these warnings. The longer Hector stays at Withypitts Hall the more disgusted he is. Overall, I liked this book. I enjoyed how the author put ...