Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

In the small, rural town of Ebbing, Missouri, darkness has descended upon its residents. Seven long months have passed since the brutal murder of Angela Hayes, the young daughter of Mildred Hayes. The local police department, led by the revered Chief William Willoughby, has failed to apprehend the killer, leaving behind a haunting sense of guilt and unresolved justice. The void created by the lack of progress spurs Mildred to take drastic action. With a bold, unapologetic demeanor, she paints three bright red billboards on the outskirts of town, posing a question, or rather, an accusation that shakes the once-peaceful community to its core: "Raping Three People. You Got Away with Murder." These bold, provocative billboards aimed squarely at the chest of local law enforcement cut to the quick, and stir up tension in Ebbing. The targeting of Chief Willoughby, a well-respected figure who has been serving the town for decades, raises the stakes significantly. As Mildred had hoped, her brazen move sparks a firestorm of reactions from the townspeople, forcing the issue of Angela's cold-blooded murder back into the limelight. However, Mildred's initiative to expose the failures of the police is only the beginning; the actions will ignite a powder keg of violence, anger, and deep-set prejudices in the once close-knit community, leaving Ebbing forever changed. Into the fray steps Jason Dixon, an ambitious and ambitious but somewhat insecure Officer who is deeply invested in earning approval from his colleagues and his family, a fact heavily marked by his codependent relationship with his police chief, Willoughby. Dixon, harboring insecurity and jealousy towards his boss as well as anger over the lack of credit for the recent small operations that he, in collaboration with an African American partner, Robert Willoughby and his department, had conducted leading him to his inability to show Mildred Hayes that he, or his police department, can protect the rural community. He focuses a significant portion of his attentions on Mildred Hayes, whose defacing of the Chief's impeccable track record and the police department sets him on edge. In his fervor to prove himself and save face for the department, Jason will not just challenge but end up participating in vigilantism that ultimately brings severe consequences. Mildred Hayes, played by Frances McDormand, is an unapologetic firecracker with unrelenting passion. Grief-stricken after her daughter's death, she becomes obsessed with learning the identity of those responsible for her murder and holding them accountable. Years of marriage took a toll on her when her husband, Red Hayes, committed suicide over their daughter's death and the subsequent lack of movement in the local town from the police on the case. Mildred's fiery determination sets both the ground and the tempo for the movie as her willingness to defy authority and undermine the power structure of her community gives fuel to other members of Ebbing, who come to confront these longstanding biases in the community's powerful pillars held by the police department. Both Mildred and Deputy Dixon bring out the raw underbelly of Ebbing, a festering sore that's been overlooked and exposed by the inability of the police to provide justice for Mildred. Exposing decades of mistrust and suspicion that lies beneath the community's facade, the narrative depicts how an unfolding display of emotional and sociological turmoil turns out to set neighbor against neighbor and ultimately tears apart a town. Director Martin McDonagh weaves the narrative of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri around themes of justice, accountability and, redemption, showcasing the profound human effect these elements have on the lives of those around them in the isolated setting of Ebbing. In a story characterized by vibrant performances from Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell as Deputy Jason Dixon, the viewer is brought face to face with some underlying problems connected with their imperfect, increasingly polarized society – it also manages to preserve a great deal of humor amidst the chaos, showing resilience in human nature and our potential to positively resolve a severely entrenched issue within our lives and communities.