| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Martin McDonagh |
| Written by | Martin McDonagh |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ben Davis |
| Edited by | Jon Gregory |
| Music by | Carter Burwell |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 115 minutes[2] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12–15 million[4][5] |
| Box office | $162.7 million[6] |
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a 2017crime drama film written, directed, and produced byMartin McDonagh. It starsFrances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, a Missouri woman who rents three roadside billboards to draw attention to her daughter's unsolved rape and murder.Woody Harrelson,Sam Rockwell,Abbie Cornish,John Hawkes, andPeter Dinklage appear in supporting roles. The film was theatrically released in the United States in November 2017 and in the United Kingdom in January 2018 byFox Searchlight Pictures, and it grossed $162 million at the worldwide box office.
It received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for McDonagh's screenplay and direction, and the performers of itsensemble cast (particularly McDormand, Rockwell and Harrelson). It wonnumerous accolades, including fiveBAFTA Awards, fourGolden Globe Awards, and threeScreen Actors Guild Awards. It also received seven nominations at the90th Academy Awards, includingBest Picture, winningBest Actress (McDormand) andBest Supporting Actor (Rockwell).
In the fictional town of Ebbing, Missouri, Mildred Hayes is grieving over the rape and murder of her teen daughter, Angela, seven months earlier. Angry over the lack of progress in the investigation, she rents three disused billboards near her home and posts on them: "Raped While Dying", "And Still No Arrests?", "How Come, Chief Willoughby?". Many townspeople are upset by the billboards for singling out local police chief Bill Willoughby, whosepancreatic cancer diagnosis is an open secret. Willoughby visits Mildred to persuade her to take them down, but is unsuccessful. He renews his efforts to solve the case, but does not get anywhere.
Jason Dixon, an immature, prejudiced police officer who idolizes Willoughby, unsuccessfully tries to intimidate Red Welby, who rented Mildred the billboards, into taking them down. Later at his mother's suggestion, Dixon arrests Mildred's friend Denise on trivial drug possession charges to put pressure on Mildred. Mildred's dentist is sympathetic to Willoughby and menaces her during an appointment, so she drills a hole in his thumbnail. Willoughby brings her in for questioning and accidentally coughs up blood into her face. He has her released and is hospitalized, though he soon checks himself out against medical advice.
The billboards have further strained Mildred's relationship with her son, Robbie, and she recalls that her last interaction with Angela was an argument (during which she lashed back by saying she "hopes she gets raped"). Her abusive former police officer ex-husband Charlie confronts her about the billboards and ends up revealing that, shortly before Angela's murder, he had turned her down when she asked to come live with him. Knowing his death is imminent following the hospitalization, Willoughby spends an idyllic day with his wife, Anne, and their two daughters, then commits suicide later that night to spare his family from watching him die slowly. A distraught Dixon reacts to the news by assaulting Welby and throwing him out a second-story window. This is discovered by Abercrombie, Willoughby's replacement, who fires Dixon. Before his death, Willoughby wrote several letters, including one to Mildred. Anne delivers it, interrupting an unknown man who was menacing Mildred at work. In the letter, Willoughby tells Mildred that she was not a factor in his suicide, asserts he was dedicated to finding Angela’s killer and reveals he secretly paid to keep the billboards up another month.
After the billboards are destroyed byarson, Mildred retaliates by tossingMolotov cocktails at the police station, which she believes to be unoccupied for the night. However, Dixon is inside reading Willoughby's letter to himself, which advises him to let go of hate and embrace love if he wants to be a detective someday; he manages to escape the blaze with Angela's case file. James, an acquaintance of Mildred, happens to pass by and extinguishes Dixon's burning clothes before providing Mildred with an alibi. Dixon is put in the same hospital room as Welby, to whom he apologizes. Jerome, who was part of the team that put up the billboards, brings Mildred a set of copies and helps her restore them. Discharged from the hospital, Dixon overhears the man who menaced Mildred bragging in a bar about raping a girl in the same manner as Angela. He notes the number on the man's Idaho license plate and then scratches the man's face to get aDNA sample, passively accepting the resulting beating. Mildred is on a date with James to thank him for his help, when Charlie enters with his 19-year-old girlfriend Penelope and apologizes for burning the billboards when he was drunk. Unnerved that she retaliated against the wrong target, Mildred abruptly calls off the date, but James misinterprets her decision as embarrassment to be seen with him and leaves the restaurant incensed.
Abercrombie informs Dixon that the DNA sample is not a match and the man was overseas on military duty at the time of Angela's death. Dixon gives Mildred the disappointing news and, believing the man to be guilty of another rape, they plan a trip to Idaho to kill him. As they set out, Mildred confesses that she set the police station on fire, which Dixon had already assumed. They both express uncertainty about their mission, but Mildred says they can decide what to do along the way.
Additionally,Amanda Warren portrays Mildred's friend Denise.Malaya Drew plays Gabriella, a local reporter, andChristopher Berry plays bar patron Tony.Jerry Winsett appears as Geoffrey, the dentist who has his thumb drilled by Mildred. Momma Dixon, Jason Dixon's mother, is portrayed bySandy Martin.Nick Searcy makes an uncredited appearance as Father Montgomery.
While traveling through theSouthern United Statesc. 1998,Martin McDonagh came across a couple of accusatory billboards that alleged a woman named Kathy Page had been murdered by her husband Steve Page inVidor, Texas, and highlighted the incompetence of the police in solving the case. McDonagh described the billboards, which he presumed had been put up by the victim's mother, as "raging and painful and tragic" and was deeply affected by them, saying the image "stayed in my mind [...] kept gnawing at me".[7][a] This incident, combined with his desire to create strong female characters, inspired McDonagh to write the story forThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.[7] He said it took him about ten years to decide "it was a mother who had taken these things out. It all became fiction [...] based on a couple of actual billboards".[9][10]
The character of Mildred was written with Frances McDormand in mind, and the character of Dixon was written specially for Sam Rockwell.[11] McDormand initially felt she was older than the character as it was written and suggested Mildred be Angela's grandmother, rather than her mother, but McDonagh disagreed, feeling it would change the story too much,[11][12] and eventually McDormand's husbandJoel Coen persuaded her to take the part regardless.[11]
John Wayne served as an inspiration for McDormand in her portrayal of Mildred, and Rockwell, wanting to make his character "the exact opposite" of Mildred, took inspiration fromLee Marvin, Wayne's co-star inThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.[11]
Principal photography began on May 2, 2016, inSylva, North Carolina,[13] and ran for 33 days.[14] Allison Outdoor Advertising of Sylva built the billboards, which were put in a pasture nearBlack Mountain, North Carolina, 60 miles east of Sylva. When not filming, the billboards were usually covered because people in the area found them upsetting. David Penix ofArden, North Carolina, subsequently bought the billboards and used the wood for a roof inDouglas Lake, Tennessee, though the messages are no longer legible.[15]
Town Pump Tavern in Black Mountain, which had been featured inThe World Made Straight (2015), was closed for three days while filming took place inside. A pool table and booths were added, but the bar's actual sign appears in the film.[16]
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | November 10, 2017[17] |
| Genre | Folk,Americana |
| Length | 44:06 |
| Label | Varèse Sarabande |
Carter Burwell's score for the film was nominated forBest Original Score at the90th Academy Awards. It was Burwell's third collaboration with McDonagh, as he had served as composer for McDonagh's first two feature films,In Bruges (2008) andSeven Psychopaths (2012). The film also features songs byABBA,Joan Baez,The Felice Brothers, theFour Tops,Monsters of Folk, andTownes Van Zandt.[18]
All tracks composed byCarter Burwell, unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mildred Goes to War" | 1:22 | |
| 2. | "The Deer" | 2:06 | |
| 3. | "Buckskin Stallion Blues" (performed byTownes Van Zandt) | Townes Van Zandt | 2:59 |
| 4. | "A Cough of Blood, A Dark Drive" | 2:37 | |
| 5. | "I've Been Arrested" | 0:38 | |
| 6. | "Fruit Loops" | 1:29 | |
| 7. | "Chiquitita" | ABBA | 0:40 |
| 8. | "His Master's Voice" (performed byMonsters of Folk) | 4:49 | |
| 9. | "Billboards On Fire" | 2:24 | |
| 10. | "Slippers" | 1:19 | |
| 11. | "The Last Rose of Summer" (performed byRenee Fleming andJeffrey Tate) |
| 4:51 |
| 12. | "My Dear Anne" | 2:35 | |
| 13. | "Walk Away Renée" (performed byThe Four Tops) |
| 2:44 |
| 14. | "Billboards Are Back" | 1:24 | |
| 15. | "Collecting Samples" | 1:15 | |
| 16. | "Sorry Welby" | 1:43 | |
| 17. | "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (performed byJoan Baez) | Robbie Robertson | 3:23 |
| 18. | "Countermove" | 1:56 | |
| 19. | "Can't Give Up Hope" | 0:30 | |
| 20. | "Buckskin Stallion Blues" (performed by Amy Annelle) | Townes Van Zandt | 3:21 |
Three Billboards premiered in competition at the74th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2017.[19] It was also screened at theToronto International Film Festival,[20] theSan Sebastián International Film Festival,[21] theBFI London Film Festival,[22] theZurich Film Festival,[23] and theMar del Plata International Film Festival,[24] among many others.
In the United States, the film received alimited release byFox Searchlight Pictures on November 10, 2017, in advance of itswide release on December 1.[6] On February 27, 2018, it was released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD,[25] withSix Shooter, McDonagh's 2004Academy Award-winning short film, included as a bonus.
The film grossed $54.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $105.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide box office total of $160.2 million.[6]
In its limited opening weekend, the film made $322,168 from four theaters, for a per-theater average of $80,542, the fourth-best of 2017.[26] It made $1.1 million from 53 theaters its second weekend and $4.4 million from 614 its third, finishing 9th and 10th at the box office, respectively.[27]
The weekend following its four Golden Globe wins on January 7, 2018, the film was added to 712 theaters (for a total of 1,022) and grossed $2.3 million, an increase of 226% from the previous weekend's $706,188.[28] Two weeks later, following the announcement of the film's seven Oscar nominations, it made $3.6 million, an increase of 87% over the previous week's $1.9 million, finishing 13th at the American box office.[29] The weekend of March 9–11, following its two Oscar wins on March 4, the film made $705,000, down 45% from the previous weekend's $1.3 million.[30]
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On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 90% of 411 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri deftly balances black comedy against searing drama – and draws unforgettable performances from its veteran cast along the way."[31]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 88 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[32]
Owen Gleiberman ofVariety praised the film's performances, stating, "It's Mildred's glowering refusal to back down that defines her, and McDormand brilliantly spotlights the conflicted humanity beneath the stony façade," and calling Rockwell's performance a "revelation."[33] Steve Pond, writing forTheWrap, praised McDonagh's writing, calling it "very funny, very violent and surprisingly moving."[34]
Less flatteringly,The New York Times columnistWesley Morris likened McDonagh's portrayal of rural America to "a set of postcards from aMartian lured to America by a cable news ticker, and by rumors of how easily flattered and provoked we are."[35]Manohla Dargis, also writing forThe New York Times, said in her review: "[McDonagh's] jokes can be uninterestingly glib with tiny, bloodless pricks that are less about challenging the audience than about obscuring the material's clichés and overriding theatricality."[36] InThe New Yorker,Tim Parks praised the film's "magnificently photographed images," but wrote that the plot contained "a thousand cheap coincidences,"[37] and concluded that the film is "empty of emotional intelligence" and "devoid of any remotely honest observation of the society it purports to serve."[37]
Some took issue with its handling of racial themes, particularly surrounding the redemptive arc of Officer Dixon, whose alleged torturing of an African American prisoner before the events of the film is referred to several times. InThe Daily Beast, bloggerIra Madison III described the treatment of Rockwell's character as "altogether offensive [...] McDonagh's attempts to script the black experience in America are often fumbling and backward and full of outdated tropes."[38] Alyssa Rosenberg noted inThe Washington Post that "[Dixon's] redemption doesn't merely defang his previous venomous bigotry; it softens Mildred's character development."[39]
Focusing on the film's treatment of sexual violence, Oliver Kenny pointed out that the film is unusual for not foregrounding images of the rape victim, and welcomed the shift from a focus on the rape itself to how the community handles rape, however poorly or mishandled their approach may be. In this case, the flawed and problematic nature of all the characters (who are each bigoted, racist, judgemental, selfish, and thoughtless in their own ways) is actually one of the film's strong points: "We must therefore think aboutThree Billboards in the context of rape imagery. Not just as a film that considers discourses around rape but one that does so without depicting the rape itself, without pursuing eye-for-an-eye revenge narratives as a crowd-pleasing solution and without pandering to a black-and-white narrative of evil-doing perpetrators, angelic victims and innocent bystanders. It is a film that entwines everyone in its narrative: the local residents, the police, the news reporters as well as us, the spectator, as we are swung back and forth between the competing ethical interests of all the characters, each of whom is worthy and flawed, invoking empathy and open to negative judgment."[40]
At the75th Golden Globe Awards,Three Billboards wonBest Motion Picture – Drama,Best Actress – Drama (McDormand),Best Supporting Actor (Rockwell), andBest Screenplay, and it was also nominated forBest Director andBest Original Score.[41] The film was nominated in nine categories at the71st British Academy Film Awards[42][43] and won five awards: bothBest Film andOutstanding British Film (making it andThe King's Speech (2010) the only films to win both awards since the latter category was reintroduced in 1992),[44]Best Leading Actress (McDormand),Best Supporting Actor (Rockwell), andBest Screenplay (Original).[45] At the24th Screen Actors Guild Awards, the film was nominated for four awards and won three, includingOutstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. It was nominated for six awards at the23rd Critics' Choice Awards and won three, includingBest Acting Ensemble. At the90th Academy Awards, the film received seven nominations, including forBest Picture,Best Actress (McDormand),Best Supporting Actor (both Rockwell and Harrelson), andBest Original Screenplay, and McDormand and Rockwell took home their respective awards.[46]
The film was named one of thetop 10 films of the year by theAmerican Film Institute.[47] It won the top prize, thePeople's Choice Award, at the2017 Toronto International Film Festival,[48] and won the Audience Award at the 2017San Sebastián International Film Festival.[21]
In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition ofThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 181.[49]
Signs inspired by the billboards in the film have been used in protests by numerous groups around the world. Both McDonagh and McDormand have responded positively to this, with McDonagh saying that "You couldn't ask for anything more than for an angry film to be adopted by protests,"[50][51] and McDormand saying she is "thrilled that activists all over the world have been inspired by the set decoration of the three billboards in Martin's film."[52]
