It might appear non-personal, yet the billboards attack the most private of emotions. "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" depicts the human psyche through media that could disrupt the tranquility of a population. Marshall McLuhan argued that "the medium is the message, " and the film is the prime dramatization of it.
Mildred Hayes, played by Frances McDormand, rents three billboards to communicate her despair to the public while she grieves her daughter's murder. The medium, all aimed at the local sheriff played by a decadent Woody Harrelson, each display: "Raped while dying. And still no arrests? How come, Chief Willoughby?” In strikingly bold optic white font topping a burning red scape, the billboards are alluring visuals that command flashy action at its sighting.
The medium generate various uproar from different personalities and entangles the townsfolk's personal interests. At the center of the drama is McDormand sparking raw, powerful emotions coated with an atomic acting as Hayes. She will secure an Academy Award with it — a role supposedly written for her by writer-director Martin McDonagh.
"Three Billboards" also boasts Sam Rockwell in his career-best. As an angry racist drunkard cop named Dixon, he emits raging empathy during scenes that reveal his intimate heartaches. So police officers are tasked to protect information that are classified, and his are systematically declassified as he is humanized. Rockwell gives utmost reason for blazing redemption. Despite being angry within, officer Dixon bestows authentic purpose for his actions.
In "Three Billboards," filmmaker McDonagh helms a furious transcendence of theatrical heartening. His screenplay is studded with a healthy dose of comedy and drama because every person deserves emphatic laughter even at the brink of weeping forlornness. Drawing humor at the most horrendous experiences is a psychological technique that helps people in pain to cope with their deteriorating environment.
McDonagh does the trick smoothly as Ebbing’s citizens are speckled with hilarious antics to ease the aches of the moment. The film confers that someone has to give. At this point, "Three Billboards" has given mutual awareness that is more just and sentimental than solely being bent for fairness.
Director: Martin McDonagh
*Footage © Fox Searchlight UK; YouTube.com
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