On a mostly unused road just outside of a small Missouri town, an angry, grieving mother (Frances McDormand) erects three billboards chastising the local police department for not apprehending the rapist who murdered her daughter a year prior, which leads to backlash from the town, its terminally ill police chief (Woody Harrelson) and an overzealous, half witted deputy (Sam Rockwell). Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards is an unsubtle black comedy journey into misery imperfectly but profoundly meshed with dramatic elements, with resolutions that buck Hollywood cliches and are uneasily arrived. McDormand is superb in one of those roles she has mastered: imbuing grief, anger, humor, and humanity, and Harrelson and Rockwell are excellent in support, both creating three dimensional characters while providing comic relief.
**** out of ****
