Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri: Movie Analysis

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri” quickly became one of the most controversial movies of last year. People could agree on about one thing, Frances McDormand was great, but other than that disagreement arose over every facet of the movie. Despite that divisiveness, the film garnered seven Oscar nominations, looking like a frontrunner for best picture. I would not have minded if it had won.
The movie’s set up is simple: McDormand plays a grieving mother whose daughter was raped and murdered the previous year. The local police department, which includes dimwitted racist Dixon (Sam Rockwell), has yet to make any progress on the case. So, to help focus public opinion on the matter, McDormand’s Mildred puts three billboards up outside of
The camera work by director Martin McDonagh and cinematographer Ben Davis isn’t flashy, but that’s good as they allow the story and acting to take center stage.
That isn’t too say there aren’t some standout moments. There are some beautiful tracking shots of the billboards about two thirds of the way through the movie. McDonagh and Davis also include some interesting camera placement and angles, framing their characters in such a way as to enhance the meaning of the scene. The best example of this is when the duo shoots McDormand from a low angle, heightening the power and take no prisoners attitude of her character.
Where McDonagh really shines, predictably, is the writing. I loved the dialogue in this movie. It’s so witty, profane, dark and sometimes profound. I found it comparable to Tarantino in a way, but I liked this much more.
From just a structure and story standpoint, I loved the unpredictability of the movie. It’s rare that I find I have no idea where a movie is going, but that was the case here. I was surprised on more than one occasion by where “Three Billboards” goes, and that only made the film that much more