Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017, United States of America/United Kingdom, classified R16 (New Zealand), MA15+ (Australia), NC16 (Singapore), R (United States), 15 (United Kingdom))
Run time 115 minutes, directed by Martin McDonagh, starring Frances McDormand
Overall rating: 17/25 (★★★ ⅖)
Sweet as or not? – Yeah, nah.
Verdict: Frances McDormand delivers an accolade-worthy performance in a largely female-driven affair with an underwhelming plot centralised around advertising boards and questioning the ineptitude of the fuzz.
Watch or Skip? – Watch it later.
Review by J.M. Broad • July 18th, 2020 (July 19th, 2020 NZT)
Kia ora folks, and welcome back to Sweet As?, the review site that reviews stuff with New Zealand panache from a uniquely NZ perspective, so you don’t have to, back from its most recent hiatus and starting its sophomore film review of the week, the third of its kind so far.
Anyway, in this review, we shall be reviewing a more recent movie, one from merely two, nearly three years ago, however still relevant in these current times regarding the cops and their actions, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Now, before we jump into this review, it is time for the obligatory disclaimer. If you do not want to read this review or are not interested in this movie or those of the same genre, please turn away now, i.e. move to another corner of Sweet As? or leave this corner of the Internet and blogosphere altogether.
If you are interested, however, please feel free to continue reading.
Now, without further ado, let’s jump straight into the review. If you’re not a fan of classical music, cover your ears or mute the television if you’re watching at home – there’s footage of small town American Midwest aplenty set to operatic music before this segues into country and western, so if you’re not a fan of that genre as well, do the same.
This film, in a manner similar to that of the Blake Lively flick The Shallows from the previous year, jumps straight into the action, which allows you to be immersed within the story and be engaged with the story, something which I feel is highly important and as a result is a fundamental part in determining whether you would fall asleep whilst watching a movie or not.
Moving onto the plot, it mainly consists of a recently widowed mother trying to get even with the cops via three billboards outside the small town referred to within the title, ‘exactly what it says on the tin’, questioning the ineptness of the police, to say the least, which is quite underwhelming as this comprises the vast majority of the one hour and fifty-five minute foray that is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In addition to this, the director includes a flashback which was too sudden for my liking and as a result, makes the plot a bit of a let-down, although it does segue into the central motif of the advertising board, thus making its purpose that bit more meaningful and making the plot less of a let-down in the process. Now, we move onto the acting, which showcases the prowess and versatility of one-time The Simpsons guest star and serial police procedural aficionado Frances McDormand, who is making her forty-third (please make a correction in the comments section if this is incorrect) foray into motion pictures, alongside someone from Aussie (or ‘Straya for our trans-Tasman whānau) and a number of other acting talents.
As the lead actress in this female-led show, which Sweet As? approves of highly, being managed by a first-wave hipster feminist (more on that later), Frances McDormand shows that she has what it takes to deliver a performance worthy of much-deserved accolades which she would eventually go on and win, essentially asserting her status as a veteran actress in a number of ways, most notably the manner in which she challenges the cops by questioning their ineptitude, so on and so forth, however having said that, the role was ‘written with Frances McDormand in mind’.
Up next in our review comes the soundtrack, which is inspired by country and western music as well as some orchestral motifs for the more sombre parts of the film, of course with some well-known songs, including one from ‘that band from Sweden that won Eurovision some forty-six or so years ago and has an entire movie franchise based on their music’. As a fan of the Dunedin sound genre of music, this soundtrack was not particularly appealing to my music taste, however I do feel that it adds some extra depth to the story so as a result it is one of the fundamental parts of the film, even though it can get repetitive at times, particularly during the latter part of the film.
Now, we move onto the visual effects, of which there are not many, except pyrotechnics, the odd explosion and some other smaller effects, owing to the fact that this motion picture was filmed on location in an approximately three thousand strong populated town in the southeastern region of the United States, for example, as well as the fact that this film does not require special effects as other factors, such as the considerably star-studded cast flanked by Frances McDormand’s acting prowess, and the engaging story compensate for the lack of effects in this somewhat low-budget film grossing ten times more in the box office.
Finally, we move onto the directing, which makes this largely female-driven affair magnificent, showcasing the acting prowess of Frances McDormand near perfectly, although some directorial decisions regarding the plot were a let-down for me, so for the majority of the film kudos are in line for the director.
Last Word
Overall, I found Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri an engaging affair, with kudos in line for whoever decided to make it a largely female-driven flick, as well as the award-winning performance of Frances McDormand throughout the film and the fact that it has influenced protest movements globally that are world-famous (outside New Zealand). However, the plot was somewhat underwhelming and some directorial decisions regarding the plot were a let-down.
The Addendum
Ratings – Acting: 5/5, Soundtrack: 3/5, Visual Effects: 3/5, Plot: 2/5, Directing: 4/5
Overall rating: 17/25 (equates to 3.4 stars overall using Sweet As? star rating calculations criteria)
Sweet as or not? – This film is somewhat sweet as due to the fact that it is a largely female-driven affair, as well as the fact that it showcases Frances McDormand’s acting prowess near perfectly, however some directorial decisions and the plot were a let-down, and the plot was underwhelming, to say the least. Therefore, this film would be a yeah, nah.
Watch or skip? – Watch it later since the plot is underwhelming, although Frances McDormand delivers an accolade-worthy performance that is too good to miss out on altogether.
How can I watch this film?
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is available on various optical disc formats and possibly some streaming services. A number of television networks also air this film in a periodic manner.
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