<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i> Is an Absolute Marvel
Featuring standout performances from Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell, the writer-director Martin McDonagh’s latest is one of the best films of the year.
A teenage girl is brutally raped and murdered. After months pass without any progress on the case, her mother takes matters into her own hands. She rents three billboards outside of her small town, indicting the local police chief: “Raped While Dying”; “And Still No Arrests?”; “How Come, Chief Willoughby?”
It is easy to imagine the movie that might have emerged from this premise in the hands of a typical writer-director: the noble parent; the inept or uncaring police chief; the slow, orchestrally underscored march toward some form of justice.
But Martin McDonagh is not a typical writer-director. And is assuredly is a revelation, and among the very best films of 2017.
