3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

2017, Martin McDonagh (Seven Psychopaths) -- download

This is the sort of movie I should be watching more of. To continue the (ahem. MY mantra, not THE) mantra on this blog for... pretty much more than half of it, I am not That Guy anymore. And this movie, a tightly directed, incredibly well acted, bleakly told drama about tragedy and growth, is the exact kind of movie I would have continuously sought out. And yet, it sat on my HDD in a To Be Watched state since it came out probably at the beginning of 2018. I occasionally scroll through that list, mostly littered with 31 Days of Halloween items that we never got around to seeing, looking for something inspiring to watch, instead of the usual dross. I rarely actually click anything, but happy I did this time.

My usual pondering on being That Guy makes me wonder why I even pine for him anymore. People are allowed to grow, or more accurately, are allowed to devolve -- for I do see this as de-evolution of who I once was aspiring to be. Should I stop even referencing it, and just move on? Should I just move on from this blog? Is it providing the outlet it once did, the joy of sharing (with all 3 of you) my enjoyment of movies, when so often, I am not all that thrilled in what I watched. Do I write, not because I am getting something from it, getting BETTER at it (because, I know, I am not) but because I feel invested and therefore must continue? Because giving up feels like defeat?

No answers really. Movies that make me think, make me think.

Ebbing, Missouri is a pretty little town in the hills, the kind of small town with a single main street and lots of salt of the earth type people, i.e. a lot of them are backwards and bigoted. The movie doesn't judge them for that. Like most of these small towns, it has a lonely road that was once a main thorough-fare in and out, but it lost out to a highway. And that road has three abandoned billboards that Mildred (Frances McDormand, Nomadland) decides to make use of. She pays up front for a month, and even confirms that which she wants on them is not breaking the law. The local ad guy is happy to take her money.

On the boards are three messages: "raped while dying", "and still no arrests", and "how come, chief willoughby?" Nobody is happy about the boards or their message, once they become known of, especially the local police, including Willoughby (Woody Harrelson, White House Plumbers), but he seems less put out by it than expected. No matter, his absolute troll of a deputy Dixon (Sam Rockwell, See How They Run) carries enough loathing & hatred for all the other cops. There is also the matter that Willoughby has terminal cancer and HAS done his best to investigate, but nothing was ever found. No matter, as Mildred will keep her boards up. She was the mother of the murdered teen girl and there is no mollifying her rage and grief.

This is not a murder mystery movie, though it takes on the trappings of such at a time here and there. It is a movie about people, and grief, and growth. Life is challenging and is not a whodunnit. Mildred, while obviously sympathetic, is abrasive and probably disliked long before her daughter was murdered; I don't think she ever takes off that mechanic's overalls, despite working in a gift shop. Willoughby knows his time is near and just wants to do right by people, even the asshole who works for him. When Willoughby's time does come, it shakes Dixon like a dog with a rag doll. He actually tries; really tries despite being a racist, violent asshole. The movie ends with Mildred & Dixon making a decision, not on solving the murder of her daughter but on... making choices.

There are no easy answers in this movie, no easy decisions. Sometimes you can just keep doing what you have been doing, or sometimes you can make conscious decisions to ... do something else. Especially when its hard.

No answers really. Movies that make me think, make me think.