It is not uncommon for an anti-routine script to be self-justified. With the black absurd humor of director Martin MacDonald, the level of four stars or more has not gone away. As for what awards can be obtained, it is different.
Just say a few words here.
First of all, general drama scripts have a clear purpose to drive the audience to watch. Sometimes it is a problem that needs to be solved, sometimes it is a very strong pursuit, and sometimes it is a seemingly irreconcilable conflict. For example, at the beginning, when everyone looked at it, they would think, was the murderer caught in the end? The audience is successfully brought into the ditch here. It seems that the most important thing is almost not mentioned in the movie. This is the most counter-routine point.
What became of that purpose? After seeing it for about ten minutes, many people will think it is: Can Mildred keep the three billboards under pressure from the police, public opinion, and family members? And what can those three billboards bring her? Let's look at it first.
Secondly, the protagonist has at least positive qualities, even if it uses negative methods, it can at least actively promote the plot.
But in the three billboards, the three leading actors are all unrepentant losers. They almost pushed the plot into a "dead end" with tacit understanding.
Stubbornness-Mildred has a bad temper, and it is difficult to get along with his children after the divorce. Part of the daughter's suffering is due to her dereliction of duty as a mother. Although the courageous personality looks refreshing, sometimes fragile and gentle, but in many cases, it is really self-deceiving: burning the police station, despising the dwarf (what's wrong with the little devil), and looking for murder across the state with a single shot.
Escape-After Chief Willoughby got cancer, it was like getting a gold medal for immunity. He cared about the situation of the case, but he cared more about whether the three billboards that harmed his reputation could be withdrawn. He even pointed his suicide at Mildred intentionally or unintentionally.
Wishful thinking-Dixon is too unprofessional as a police officer. When Willoughby was still alive, he was racially discriminatory, motivated, but brained, and went to work. When he was away, he would use his own native methods to handle the case with wishful thinking.
Not only the three leading actors, but also the supporting roles are all losers: the advertising man Red, who is thinking about making money, was thrown out of the window by Dixon because he was thinking of making money. Unfortunately, loser. The dwarf likes Mildred's unsuccessful pursuit and a broken love loser. The second son lives in the shadow of his sister’s suffering, and is also forced by both sides between his parents. There is no sense of being lost. Angela was in the rebellious period, and the brave little sister unexpectedly fell into the claws, poor loser.
Finally, when the plot develops to the end, it will give a clear answer to the question: What changes have the three billboards brought to the protagonists?
It can be said that there is almost no, but it is earth-shaking.
General drama films have long been impatient to offer happy ending, but the heroine who has been tossing for more than half a year finally began to pursue another suspect with Dixon. After the sheriff committed suicide, the new black sheriff has not found a breakthrough in the case. The ex-husband of the violent boy and his little girlfriend are having a good time. The old things are not turned over, and new contradictions follow one after another.
Does this look like...real life? Even when it comes to the deadline, the story has no ending. Each loser character is still stuck in his own troubles. Some seem to be worse, some seem to be better, but the ups and downs are not counted. So the question this movie really wants to ask is not what changes the billboard brings, but: how do the loser characters one after another in this fictional town live with their own incomplete ideas?
Mildred finally opened the knot and told Dixon police station that she had burned it. The hostile meaning of the three billboards existed in name only, but she was stubborn and embarked on the road to find another suspect. Relying on the enthusiastic Dixon to deal with the case, he read the letter from the sheriff to let go of his prejudice, and even wanted to commit suicide after finding the wrong suspect. Willoughby paid the advertising fee anonymously and complained that he did not believe the police. His suicide awakened his colleagues.
A protagonist with no clear purpose, no active promotion of the story, no ending of the story, the essence of the experiment still does not affect the ups and downs of the narrative, this is the reason for the five-star.
(Other reasons: the last rose of summer music, black humor stalk, A Good Man Is Hard to Find stalk, etc.)
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