Penny Lai
This Oscar nominated film discuses a mother’s journey of seeking justice for her daughter who was raped and murdered. The power of a mother’s love is not a new subject for Hollywood movies. It is easy for directors to portrait a mother’s struggle on parenting, because family issues are a relatable subject for most people. However, to present a tough mother who will do anything to find the murderer of her daughter is a difficult task.
Mildred’s daughter was raped and tortured to death by a remote road of a small town, Ebbing. After one year of her daughter’s death, the police have no useful evidences to bring in the murderer. Unwilling to give in, Mildred decides to rent the three giant billboards located exactly where her daughter was killed. Mildred uses the three billboards to publicly shame Willoughby, the head police officer of the town. The mother thinks that the police fails their job of catching the murderer and of bringing justice to those who deserve it. Suddenly, Mildred becomes the target of the whole town for going extreme and shaming the police. However, she does not back down, and the tension between Mildred and the police keeps rising as the story goes.
The director, Martin McDonagh did a fantastic job on building the character Mildred. The basic setup of Mildred is an angry mother who will do anything to find the murderer, but at the same time, the audience can see Mildred’s weak spot when she’s committing crimes. She turns her anger into violence and defense when she goes against the authorities. It is easy to portrait this character as an extreme maniac who will hurt anyone getting in her way. However, a closer look will reveal that actually Mildred does not want to hurt anyone; she just wants the authorities and the public to treat her and her daughter’s death seriously. All she asks for is an answer, so she can exempt herself from the guilt of failing as a parent.
The story itself might seem dull for a Hollywood big production. However, the details in each character’s construction is more than admirable. We as viewers can definitely relate to the changing of each character throughout the film and grow with the characters as Mildred comes to a realization of being a parent in the end of the movie.
Mildred’s daughter was raped and tortured to death by a remote road of a small town, Ebbing. After one year of her daughter’s death, the police have no useful evidences to bring in the murderer. Unwilling to give in, Mildred decides to rent the three giant billboards located exactly where her daughter was killed. Mildred uses the three billboards to publicly shame Willoughby, the head police officer of the town. The mother thinks that the police fails their job of catching the murderer and of bringing justice to those who deserve it. Suddenly, Mildred becomes the target of the whole town for going extreme and shaming the police. However, she does not back down, and the tension between Mildred and the police keeps rising as the story goes.
The director, Martin McDonagh did a fantastic job on building the character Mildred. The basic setup of Mildred is an angry mother who will do anything to find the murderer, but at the same time, the audience can see Mildred’s weak spot when she’s committing crimes. She turns her anger into violence and defense when she goes against the authorities. It is easy to portrait this character as an extreme maniac who will hurt anyone getting in her way. However, a closer look will reveal that actually Mildred does not want to hurt anyone; she just wants the authorities and the public to treat her and her daughter’s death seriously. All she asks for is an answer, so she can exempt herself from the guilt of failing as a parent.
The story itself might seem dull for a Hollywood big production. However, the details in each character’s construction is more than admirable. We as viewers can definitely relate to the changing of each character throughout the film and grow with the characters as Mildred comes to a realization of being a parent in the end of the movie.
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