Boy howdy: "3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

[Wade Hampton]

I just came back from watching this film, which is one of the most original films I've ever seen. It's being marketed as sort of a black comedy, and there are certainly those elements in it, especially for the first half of its running time.

But whenever I thought I knew what was going to happen next, it turned on a dime and went off on some entirely unexpected direction. None of the usual Hollywood story beats got followed. At all.

It was written and directed by an Irish playwright named Martin McDonagh. I'd seen his previous two features, "In Bruges" and "Seven Psychopaths," and while I'd enjoyed them for what they were, neither seemed particularly connected to real life. "In Bruges" is about two Irish gangsters/hitmen who've been ordered to chill out and await orders in the historic Belgian city of Bruges.

Perhaps that sort of thing happens a lot in your lives, but not mine. So far as the story went, it seemed more like an excuse to shoot a feature film in a gorgeous, previously unexploited shooting location than anything even remotely connected to real life.

But I liked it, and I can remember the story line clearly, which is more than I can say about his next film, "Seven Psychopaths." Which I also liked well enough, but its plot seemed to be mostly equal parts wackiness and mayhem, and about the only shred of memory about it that sticks in my mind is that Colin Ferrell and Sam Rockwell play best buddies who hang around a little LA bungalow and drink lots of Shiner Bock beer. Naturally, comic dialogue and occasional gut-punching violence ensue.

I remember Christopher Walken in that film, also, and he's always entertaining. But to me the story itself seemed to have less connection to anything like reality than even "In Bruges" had.

Also, the dialogue McDonagh wrote for it was clever, but it didn't seem to fit the mouths of the mostly American actors it was coming out of; the speech rhythms struck me as a bit odd and a bit off. In that regard, it seemed forced.

Well, absolutely NONE of the criticisms I've mentioned about those two previous films apply to "3 Billboards." It has a plausible story, the people in it act the way real people placed in those situations might act, and nothing seems forced or artificial. As surprising as each plot turn is, it all seems completely possible.

One reason I liked it is the simple fact that, for once, small town Missouri is portrayed as being part of the Southern culture that it really is. People from elsewhere look at the US map and just blandly assume that Missouri is part of the Midwest, because that's where it's located, right?

That might be true enough in St. Louis and Kansas City (though in KC, it's not as true as you might think,) but once you get five minutes outside either metro area you are in Dixie, pal, and this film points that out in an effective but not overbearing way.

The speech patterns of the dialogue in this film are far more realistic than in "Seven Psychopaths," too, though I don't know whether that's a reflection of the rhythms of McDonagh's native Irish dialect aligning more closely with the rhythms of the Scots-Irish folks from Missouri (like me) who populate the cast of characters, or if that's just a bunch of crap and McDonagh's simply learned to write more realistic-sounding dialogue for American characters.

Could be either or a bit of both. Doesn't matter, really. It's not stilted in the way "Seven Psychopaths" sometimes was, and that's all I care about.

One of the reasons I see a lot more realism in McDonagh's storyline and empathy for his characters in this film is a scene that takes place about halfway through the movie, where the Frances McDormand character is having a shouting argument with her teenage son at the breakfast table when her violent ex-husband (and the kid's father) shows up and gets into a confrontation with her. I don't want to give away any details, except that the kid's reaction to this is exactly the same reaction I had at age sixteen when my drunken Uncle John Dean threatened my father and moved as though he was going to attack him.

My reaction to John Dean was every bit as instantaneous and unplanned as the way the kid in this film reacted. That unpleasant incident from my life didn't go quite so far as what happens in that scene from the movie, but it was only by a matter of degree.

Watching that, my reaction was: "Was that Paddy in the room when that happened?!? Was he taking notes?"

My father and I were really at a low ebb in our personal relationship at that point, over the Vietnam War and my grades and all sorts of other stuff, but after that spontaneous, unthinking reaction I had to my uncle's threatening behavior, I remember realizing: "Wow....I guess this means I really love my father..."

Anyway, I don't want to project any warm, fuzzy and huggy feelings onto the atmosphere of this film, because it is completely unsentimental and not the least bit warm or fuzzy. But that scene was a moment of complete real life accuracy so far as I'm concerned.

It's definitely worth seeing, and it's difficult to describe. Which is why none of the reviews and articles I've read about it seem to capture much about it, frankly. They all agree it's good, but I'm not sure it's entirely possible to fully explain why.

It's sui generis. It's worth seeing.


Wade Hampton Miller

[fumei]

I just LOVED this film. I agree, it had a feel of reality to it. The characters were totally believable. Black comedy? Sort of. There were certainly elements of gut busting laughter, but they floated on top of gut wrenching pain. THAT is art.

I have one objection though. The character that gets badly burned shows up very shortly after (scarred badly). Uh, really? Nope. That dude would have been in the hospital for weeks. Minor flaw.

There is some Oscar buzz about Three Billboards. I think it would be well deserved. It is one the best films I have seen in a long time. Frances McDormand deserves a nomination as a lead; Woody Harrelson AND Sam Rockwell deserve a nomination for supporting. And what the heck, the screen writing deserves a nomination as well, and hmmmm, directing too.

Like I said, I LOVED this film.

[KevWind]

Sounds like it is currently "In theaters" ?

[fazool]

I remembering watching in Brugges while traveling and stuck in a hotel room with nothing but HBO.

Working for a Belgian company and visiting Brugges I was hoping for a connection to the movie. It never clicked for me. For some odd reason I never got immersed in the story and found it unpleasant. I didn't finish watching.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Sounds like it is currently "In theaters" ?

Yes, it is. If it isn’t playing near you, hop a jet and come see it in Anchorage. We’ve got it showing in a couple of theaters.


whm

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Yes, it is. If it isn’t playing near you, hop a jet and come see it in Anchorage. We’ve got it showing in a couple of theaters.


whm

What a great idea

[marty bradbury]

I love movies that can actually happen in real life. I will give this one a look.

[buddyhu]

My wife and I just returned from seeing 3 Billboards, and all we could say for the first few minutes of the drive home was, "Wow". A fabulous movie. Unpredictable, insightful, VERY well acted (Frances McDormand's best performance since Fargo, IMO). I also liked "In Bruges...though the story line wasn't nearly as interesting and relatable as "3 Billboards".

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!! It may be my favorite movie this year...with "Big Sick" being second, and "Lady Bird" perhaps third.

Not just entertaining...a good use of your precious time.

[veryzer]

I just watched this yesterday so I know I'm late to the party. I enjoyed the movie but am curious if anyone else felt the subplot overwhelmed the plot. All I could think about today was Chief Willoughby, his wife, his girls, and his letters. If that's the biggest gripe, it's still a really good movie...I'm just wondering if anyone else found that the emotional center.

[ManyMartinMan]

Got to screen this before the awards season began and found it delightful. It is well written, well produced, superbly acted and I found it fun to watch. Not as infatuated with the ending but I found it a really good movie. Another really well-done very original movie out this season is The Shape Of Water. Wildly original and well don as well.

[Song Writer]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

Another really well-done very original movie out this season is The Shape Of Water. Wildly original and well don as well.

So wildly original that its being sued for plagarism. So wildly original that if you took away the humor in Splash you'd have The Shape Of Water right down to molting scales in the bathroom and the evil scientist turned good.

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/...ations-w515938

[Hoyt]

Just looked at the Trailer after your tip. Got to see this movie, looks great.

[marty bradbury]

Going to see the movie tonight. I love movies with a "reality" feel to them also.

[Looburst]

Yes, since I'm an SAG-AFTRA member, I get many of these movies to review and vote on, for the awards each year. This one is great! The Shape Of Water?? Stupid.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by Looburst

Yes, since I'm an SAG-AFTRA member, I get many of these movies to review and vote on, for the awards each year. This one is great! The Shape Of Water?? Stupid.

Well, I agree that “The Shape Of Water” is basically “The Creature From The Black Lagoon Gets A Girlfriend,” and as such it follows a fairly predictable path. But it’s well done. I enjoyed it, even though I wasn’t surprised by any of the plot points.

I suspect that one reason that so much of a fuss is being made over it by the Oscar people is that Guillermo del Toro’s earlier “Pan’s Labyrinth,” which is a genuine masterpiece, got stiffed entirely and didn’t get any of the Oscars it deserved.

So all the fuss being made over this lesser film is a way of redressing that earlier slight. It’s the same karmic principle that got Al Pacino his Best Actor Oscar for the ridiculous “The Scent Of A Woman” instead of for his performances in “Serpico” or “Dog Day Afternoon,” when he should have won but didn’t.

That’s how I see it, anyway.


whm