Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) Vigilante Noir

A Coen-esque Dark Comedy Neo Noir 

Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh, with Music by Carter Burwell and Cinematography by Ben Davis.

Stars: Frances McDormand (Blood Simple (1984), Fargo (1996), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), ), Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers (1994), Palmetto (1998), True Detective
TV Series (2014–  No Country for Old Men (2007)), Sam Rockwell (Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), ), Lucas Hedges, Abbie Cornish, John Hawkes (Too Late (2015)), Michelle Monaghan (True Detective TV Series (2014– )) and Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent (2003)).

Mildred Hayes (McDormand) is grieving over the rape and murder of her teenage daughter, Angela. Particularly she is heartsick over the fact that on the night of the tragedy she denied letting her daughter use the car, to which the daughter told her, something along the lines of fine, I'll hitch-hike and I'll probably get raped. To which Mildred replied sarcastically I hope you get raped too.

Flashback daughter Angela  (Kathryn Newton)"I hope I get raped."

the three billboards

Mildred (McDormand)

Seven moths pass and there is no resolution of the case. Mildred marriage dissolves, her husband Charlie (Hawkes) is screwing a 19 year old to cope in his own twisted way. Mildred decides to rent three disused billboards to vent her frustrations. The three aligned billboards (sort in a similar vein to the old Burma Shave signs), say "RAPED WHILE DYING", "STILL NO ARRESTS?", and "HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?"

The billboards upset Chief Bill Willoughby (Harrelson) who is suffering from cancer and his deputies, particularly Officer Dixon (Rockwell) an alcoholic who has a reputation for being a racist and violent. Mildred and Robbie (Hedges) her son are both harassed and threatened. Some town folks make their disapproval known.

Officer Dixon (Rockwell)

Chief Bill Willoughby (Harrelson)

Dixon goes on a personal rampage threatening Red Welby (Caleb Landry Jones) the man who rented out the billboards to Mildred and arresting Mildred's friend Denise on minor marijuana possession charges. Even Charlie visits Mildred with his new girlfriend to question her sanity.

Red Welby (Caleb Landry Jones) and Dixon

Charlie (John Hawkes)

After Mildred has a confrontation with her disapproving dentist (she drills a hole in his thumb) Willoughby brings her in for questioning. Willoughby coughs up blood during the interview. He checks into the hospital. He leaves the hospital when he gets the bad news. He then heads home to spend a last good day with his wife and daughters, then goes out to the horse barn that night and blows his brains out.

These events send Dixon off the deep end. He heads across the street and throws Welby out of his second story window. Dixon gets fired by temporary Chief Abercrombie. Willoughby has sent out letters that arrive postmortem. One to Mildred tells her that she did not cause him to commit suicide and informs her that he paid an extra month for the rent of the billboards.

The three billboards are set on fire and Mildred escalates by Molotov torching what she thinks is the unoccupied the police station. However, Dixon is inside wearing ear buds so that he doesn't hear the phone call Mildred places to check. He's reading the letter he got from Willoughby which tells him
 to let go of hate and learn to love, as the only way to realize his wish to become a detective. Dixon grabs Angela's case file out of a cabinet but suffers severe burns as he escapes the flames.

The chief's letter

James (Dinklage)  putting out the flames

James (Dinklage) sees Dixon run out and collapse on the street and puts out the flames. He later covers for Mildred giving her an alibi claiming that they were out on a date that night and came around to corner to find the police station in flames.

The billboard messages are restored with spares, and Dixon is eventually released from the hospital. While getting shit-faced in a local bar he overhears a conversation with two guys in a booth. One is  bragging about having rapped and killed a girl. Dixon goes out and notes the Idaho licence plate. He  then starts a fight with them by scratching the braggers face with his fingernails. He gets the shit beat out of him but also now has some DNA evidence.

The DNA proves negative but Dixon and Mildred go Noirsville heading to Idaho on a vigilante mission to kill the bragger.

Noirsville

Dixon and his Momma (Sandy Martin)

The dark humor is provided the reactions along with some of the music cues and the sharp dialogues between Charlie and Mildred, Dixon and his fellow officers, Dixon and his geezer Momma (Sandy Martin), Mildred and Willoughby, Mildred Charlie, and Charlie's teenybopper girlfriend and Mildred and James.

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri won 90th Academy Awards for Best Actress (McDormand) and Best Supporting Actor Sam Rockwell. 8/10