SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
THIS MOTION PICTURE IS OFFICIALLY AN AFFILIATE OF THE FILMMAKING PARAGONS.
Martin McDonagh's drama is about a mother grieving over her daughter's death after the trail has gone cold without any finding, explanation or solution. How her action of erecting three billboards questioning the authorities regarding said matter starts altering the lives of the policemen in town is the crux left for you to figure.
The writer-director stayed faithful to the film's title. You'll get a glimpse of the billboards from time to time since the start, as this interesting premise revolves around them. Another aspect of the writing that throws a major surprise is how character-bound it actually is. Apart from the protagonist, a good set of subplots exist to show how all the other supporting characters are affected and impacted before going through a transformation because of this three-billboards event.
Performances are outstanding, particularly of Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes and Sam Rockwell as Dixon. Mildred is an imposing, tough and determined old boot whose presence alone is enough to jitter anybody nearby! Even so, the writing managed to peel the soft insides of this character for display, making her a believable person. The latter portrayed a police officer who begins his journey as a despicable and unlawful rowdy, racist and drunkard. But over the runtime course, the arc for this character was bent so well that the metamorphosis is strong and hugely likable! He initially broke the law to do the wrong things, but later did the same for the right ones. It would have been a tough sell if Martin had totally switched both the text and subtext of this character's arc to the polar opposite. Instead, since Dixon was only the supporting persona, his text was maintained while the subtext was turned 180 degrees to render the arc and character convincing.
Not only each and every scene is engaging, it reveals character and drives the story forward too, as it rightfully should! Mildred talking to her bedroom slippers, kicking students' groins, breaking fire on police department while Dixon's reading a letter inside it, and him attacking the advertisement agency in a single shot go before being admitted into the same room as the victim are remarkable sequences! Heated argument to coughing blood and bar brawl are intense. Dentist attack was brilliantly foreshadowed. Also, interactions between Dixon and Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) are nice. Simple yet solid dialogues in easy-to-follow scenes, overall.
Speaking of Willoughby, a lot of time was spent on this persona and his family. It's understandable as his suicide that brings shaking changes to the characters and story in general, but some amount of that time could have been spent on Mildred's relationship with her daughter, uncovering of the past and her job at the souvenir shop. Carter Burwell's composed amazing soundtracks. With a darkly funny tone and a beautiful ending, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is definitely a film our memory will not forego.