Essentially, it involves a feud between a grieving mother, Mildred, (brilliantly played by the wonderful Frances McDormand) and the local head of law enforcement (played by the very impressive Woody Harrelson). Mildred is at her wit’s end… seven months after the brutal rape and murder of her daughter and the police are no nearer to solving the crime… everything has gone very quiet and, with no leads, the police seem to have given up on the case. Mildred – who is very much a feisty, no-nonsense character - is FAR from impressed. So, she sets about provoking the local police with a series of messages plastered on three large billboards outside her home town…
It’s probably best that I don’t say much more about how things pan out...
All I will say is that it’s a brilliant, brilliant film.
McDormand is frighteningly convincing (and absolutely superb... both lovable and scary!) in her role and the community police leader Chief Willoughby (Harrelson) is also quite remarkable.
Moira and I were chatting on our way home and she described the film’s plot as “almost Shakespearean” and I think this is pretty much ‘spot on’.
It’s one of those films that almost defies description (ok, I’m not very good at summarising these things!)… it’s tough, brutal, tender, beautiful, compassionate, confrontational, shocking, dark and riotously funny… it deals with social division in modern America and yet old assumptions are amazingly overturned. It’s about changing attitudes and preconceptions. At times, I even found myself mentally imploring the film (is that possible?) not to follow a particular story-line…
The film is full of wonderful cameo performances (frequently harebrained!), laugh-out-moments, dramatic sensitivity… and surprises.
You just NEED to see it… it’s as simple as that.
Oscar to Frances McDormand… no question.
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