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

Blood Simple (1984) The Bad Detective

The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the Pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here... you're on your own.

All I can say is Wow! What a debut film of the Coen Brother's. This film has got STYLE. Directed by Joel Coen, (& Ethan Coen (uncredited)) (Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), No Country for Old Men (2007)), and written by both Joel Coen & Ethan Coen. The films cinematography was by Barry Sonnenfeld (Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990)) and the music was by Carter Burwell (Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998),No Country for Old Men (2007), Mildred Pierce (TV Mini-Series)).

 
The film stars John Getz (The Fly (1986)) as Ray, Frances McDormand (Fargo (1996), Lone Star (1996), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)) as femme fatale Abby Marty, Dan Hedaya (True Confessions (1981), Tightrope (1984), Mulholland Dr. (1999)) as Julian Marty, M. Emmet Walsh (Midnight Cowboy (1969), Serpico (1973), Straight Time (1978), Blade Runner (1982), Narrow Margin (1990)) as private investigator Loren Visser, Samm-Art Williams (Dressed to Kill (1980), A Rage in Harlem (1991)) as Maurice, and Deborah Neumann as Debra.

Ray (John Getz)

Abby (Francis McDormand)

Julian (Dan Hedaya)

Visser (M. Emmet Walsh)

P.I.'s are arguably, along with the femme fatale, probably the two top icons of Noir, but in the totality of the Noir/Neo Noir canon there are surprisingly, contrary to popular perception, not very many films that actually do feature your classic hardboiled private detective. Oh don't get me wrong there is sleuthing going on in quite a bit of Film Noir, but it's done by a plethora of characters, newspaper reporters, the falsely accused, the amnesiacs, the framed, cabbies, tabloid photographers, secretaries, taxi dancers, average joe's, even kids.  Out of those films that do actually have P.I.'s, I can only think of four with private detectives that have gone bad, Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) in, Out Of the Past, J.B. MacDonald (Raymond Burr) in Pitfall, Kerric (Raymond Burr) in Abandoned, and hayseed shitkicker Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) in this film Blood Simple, which takes "The Bad Detective" to a whole new level.

 

Blood Simple starts off with sleazy bedroom dick Visser's voice over about there being no guarantees in life. Visser was hired by Julian Marty who owns Neon Boots a honkey-tonk/strip bar. Marty wants Visser, to keep tabs on his "funny: acting wife, Abby. Julian suspects some hanky panky is going on between Abby and one of his barkeepers, either "Motown" Meurice or "Cowboy" Ray.

On a rainy night Ray offers to drive Abby to Houston on his day off. Abby spills the beans to Ray about her screwed up marriage. Ray replies that he's always liked her.

Abby: He gave me a little pearl-handled .38 for our first anniversary.
Ray: Uh-huh.
Abby: Figured I'd better leave before I used it on him. I don't know how you can stand him.
Ray: Well, I'm only an employee, I ain't married to him.

One thing leads to another and Abby ends up repeatedly batter-dipping Ray's corn dog in a variety of positions in a cheap roadside hot sheet motel. Visser who has been tailing them all along in his VW bug is able to indulge in one of his perverted kinks, peeping and photographing their dirty deeds. Visser takes particular pleasure rubbing Julian]s nose in his armature porn shots of Ray and Abby.

Private Detective Visser: [about a photo of Ray and Abby] I know a place you can get that framed.
Marty: What did you take these for?
Private Detective Visser: What do you mean? Just doin' my job.
Marty: You called me, I knew they were there, so what do I need these for?
Private Detective Visser: Well, I don't know... Call it a fringe benefit.
Marty: How long did you watch her?
Private Detective Visser: Most of the night... They'd just rest a few minutes and then get started again. Quite something.

Julian stews over the revelations, confronts Ray and Abby to little effect, then decides to make Visser an offer.

Marty: I got a job for you.
Private Detective Visser: Uh, well, if the pay's right, and it's legal, I'll do it.
Marty: It's not strictly legal.
Private Detective Visser: [Thinks for a second] Well, if the pay's right, I'll do it.

Julian offers Visser 10 Gs to kill Ray and Abby and get rid of the bodies.

Of course this being a Neo Noir nothing goes down quite as expected, and when it does go down, it's with great style. The film is full of twists, double crosses and a healthy helping of bizarre black humor.

Noirsville

Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh are both in top form as the films unforgettable two sleazeballs around which this picaresque universe revolves. The soundtrack and score compliment the action. Review is of 2000 re-release.  9/10