Nov. 10, 2017|United Kingdom, United States|115 Min.|R
Genre: Crime;Drama
Description: In the fictional town of Ebbing, Missouri, Mildred Hayes is devastated by the rape and murder of her teenage daughter, Angela, which occurred seven months earlier. Frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation, Mildred rents three abandoned billboards near her home and places bold messages on them: “Raped While Dying,” “And Still No Arrests?” and “How Come, Chief Willoughby?” These billboards stir controversy among the townspeople, including Chief Bill Willoughby and the volatile, racist Officer Jason Dixon. The fact that Chief Willoughby is terminally ill with pancreatic cancer further complicates the situation. Despite facing harassment, threats, and opposition from her son Robbie, Mildred remains determined to keep the billboards up as a means of seeking justice.
While Chief Willoughby understands Mildred’s frustration, he views the billboards as a personal attack on his integrity. Dixon, angered by Mildred’s defiance, threatens Red Welby, the businessman who rented her the billboards, and arrests her friend Denise on minor drug charges. Mildred’s abusive ex-husband, Charlie, visits her and reveals that Angela had asked to live with him shortly before her death, a request he had denied.
The tension escalates when Mildred retaliates against her dentist by drilling a hole in his thumb after he threatens her. Chief Willoughby questions her about the incident but ends up coughing blood into her face during the interrogation. Willoughby is hospitalized but chooses to leave against medical advice. He spends a peaceful day with his wife and daughters before taking his own life to spare them the pain of watching him succumb to cancer. In his suicide note to Mildred, he explains that her actions were not the cause of his decision and admits he secretly paid to keep the billboards up for another month, hoping they would maintain focus on Angela’s unsolved murder.
Cast director: Peter Kohn
Cast actor: Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Caleb Landry Jones, Peter Dinklage, John Hawkes, Samara Weaving, Zeljko Ivanek
Original name: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri