Martin McDonagh has made critically acclaimed throughout his career. I haven't seen In Bruges but I liked Seven Psychopaths. However, it's with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri that made me realise what a talented writer and director he is.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri follows Mildred, a mother that rents three billboards to challenge the authorities in order to find and capture her daughter's murderer after they fail to do so.
With this film, Martin McDonagh has crafted one of my favourite dramas to ever exist. I was thoroughly entertained throughout and couldn't spot a single thing I didn't like. One of the best parts of this film is its unpredictability. With a story like this, I thought I knew where it was headed but McDonagh managed to surprise me every time. Without taking the route many films do with this kind of story, McDonagh subverts our expectations by taking us on a more psychological journey with the characters of Mildred, Dixon and Willoughby. The writing is one of the smartest I've ever seen as McDonagh writes characters with immense depth and emotion. No character is perfect and as the films unfolds, McDonagh peels back the layers of each one of them to create an arc you wouldn't expect them to have on their odyssey of anger, revenge and love. The realistic and humane approach McDonagh takes made me genuinely care about the characters. There are also moments of dark humour spread across but they don't take away from the dramatic elements and impact you're meant to feel.
Aside from Martin McDonagh's outstanding writing and direction, the acting is some of the best you'll see. Frances McDormand is an actress that consistently delivers exceptional performances and her performance as Mildred is one of her best. She is an absolute force to be reckoned with and deserves winner the Oscar for her work here. Sam Rockwell is extraordinary as Dixon. This is his best performance yet and he deserves all the awards he got for this film. Woody Harrelson is terrific as usual and plays Willoughby with enormous skill. John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage, Lucas Hedges and Caleb Landry Jones are also great.
Every single aspect of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is done exceptionally well. Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest films of 2017. With its dark subject matter, impeccable writing, directing and extraordinary acting, I consider this film to be one of the best dramas to ever exist.
