2017 comedic drama
Rating: 16/20
Plot: After not seeing any progress in the investigation of her daughter's rape/murder, a mother rents a trio of billboards in order to call out the local police. Things erupt in Ebbing, Missouri.
Like McDonagh's In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, this eccentricity-driven chunk of semi-violent fun has all sorts of narrative issues. There are extraneous subplots, some minor peculiarities like the stuff with Dinklage's character and some major life events like with Woody Harrelson and his family, and a large percentage of the proceedings showcase the kinds of violent acts, quirkily profound dialogue, and narrative twists that are the sorts of things that could only appear in a movie that is very written. I've given McDonagh's movies all the same rating, I've noticed, and I'm wondering if any of them are too low. I love the movies like I love the Coen movies, yet I wouldn't say his ouerve adds up to something as refreshingly original or borderline revolutionary as their collective work. They're irresistibly fun, as catchy as pop music, mostly because they're so wildly paced, alternating between unpredictable hilarity and unpredictable profundity, and are filled with characters that are so likable and flawed.
I don't like writing on this blog anymore. I'm listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival (Bayou Country, if you keep score on this sort of thing), and I've gotten up to dance a few times. And I've just reread what took me about 15 minutes to write, and it's pretentious and pointless. I don't know what I'm doing up there, and I apologize that I don't have the good sense to just delete it and start over. It would be better for everybody. However, as you can see, it's still up there.
I wanted to use the word "wherewithal" in that last paragraph. My blog searches never feel entirely accurate, but it seems I've never used the word "wherewithal" anywhere in here. I don't think I've ever used the word in my life outside the blog either. Wherewithal. It's a beautiful series of syllables, isn't it?
Here we are. I think I started doing this blog over ten years ago now. I'm finally in a situation where I can actually watch movies currently in theaters. Like this one. Or that Medea Halloween movie. And instead of writing up a quality review in a timely fashion, I end up writing something like this a week and a half after I saw the movie. This is no way to break the 4 1/2 reader threshold, Shane!
Following the movie, an older couple decided to start talking to me. Well, the lady was talking to me. The guy just kind of stood behind her, giving me the eye like I was going to start making moves on his woman. She asked what I thought, and instead of giving her a generic answer like she was probably expecting and more than likely hoping for, I started to talk about what I thought the movie was about. In one word, that would be empathy. I brought up a key scene in this movie that involved orange juice. As we left the theater, she called me "professor," maybe ironically.
I'm giving this movie a bonus point because of that lady!
Did you know that Sam Rockwell is in this movie? You should! He's in all of the movies! I really liked him in this, playing that sort of character you imagine would be hard to shake after the work's done. It's the kind of role you have to prepare for by shoving a VHS copy of Critters 2 down the front of your pants before telling Rodney King jokes. He plays a caricature, like a lot of the characters in this movie, but that doesn't make Rockwell's work any less fun. He's a character you'll want to hate, maybe even love to hate, but there's something heartbreaking about him at the same time because he's just so damn human.
There's a lot of humanity in this movie. You feel it, even when things are at their most written. You know what I mean by that? Written? If not, leave a comment and ask so that I can explain it to you after I sober up.
Frances McDormand sure seems to be having a blast spitting out some of her lines. I'm not sure how much of this was improvised or developed in rehearsals or whatever, but if McDonagh wrote all of her lines as she said them, he's something like a Shakespeare of swearwords. McDormand's character, like every major character in this, is so filled with internal conflict that. . .
I can't finish that sentence.
This is darkly humorous, it frequently shocks, and it just has so much color. You should see it!
This entry was not proofread.
I'm sure there is some quote out there about making art for one's self and if you do it for other reasons then you are something something. I skimmed the review because I am going to see this next week and didn't want spoilers, but I'm sure the actual text of your review was no better or worse than it usually is. Does that help? You should keep doing it though so that if the world doesn't end then you will leave amusing (and yes, some weird) bits of yourself for your great, great whatevers. I'll let you know if you are wrong about this soon. And don't worry about the 4 1/2 thing. I continually post political stuff on Facebook and almost everyone I know pointedly ignores every kernel of wisdom and outrage that I am trying to share. And they actually SEE my stuff...unless they have blocked me, of course.
ReplyDeleteThey've totally blocked you.
ReplyDeleteCurious to know what your thoughts are on this one. I definitely thought there were some issues that kept it from being great, but I also enjoyed it very much. And it kind of depressed the hell out of me.
I'm really not sure I'd like it as much if I saw it a second time.
Who would have thought a movie about a mother seeking justice for her raped and murdered daughter could be such a downer? I was very excited about this going in. From the previews it seemed quirky, dark, and something of a black comedy; Coenesque without the Coens. In fact, the movie doesn't really seem to know what it wants to be. Every "good" character is undercut by unpleasant actions and most bad characters are not really held to account. The point might be that we're all flawed and the world is cruel, but I knew that, already. Dinklage is wasted in a weak, pitiable role of a type that he should not be taking anymore. The age difference between a few of the men and their women is either an indictment of Missouri as part of the South or was a perk in the contracts of men who would do Weinstein proud. There were Harrelson rictus-grins at his young wife which probably drove that actress into therapy and made me a bit nauseous.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few funny lines and surprising moments here, but the pace is stuttering and the actions of a few main characters are too broad and the consequences unrealistic. It's not that this is a bad movie, just that there is no vision to hold on to, or even a definitive ending. It is as though the thing was just pieced together out of parts...ugly parts. A 12.
I probably can't argue with anything you said there.
ReplyDeleteI've probably said it many times before, but I like movies with no endings.
I've read that people had problems with this movie because Sam Rockwell's racist, violent, ignorant character got some redemption in the end. I don't have a problem with characters changing, though. I mean, people change. I'd like to think I've changed (the cross-dressing thing didn't really work out for me...). It's not like he was the mother from Florida Project who had no redeemable moments or qualities.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell kind of post did you leave? It was like a cry for help...You can't leave a cry for help in a place populated with only 4 1/2 people who randomly come and go.
Regarding this movie, I agree with everything that's been said by you two. 14/20
Cross-dressing thing? And MY writing was a cry for help?
ReplyDeleteIt's not like Sam Rockwell was like The Florida Project, an irredeemable movie. I think that's what you meant.
I don't know what got into me with this entry. Sometimes I do that. I believe I had been drinking a little.
I gave this the same rating as The Shape of Water, but if I saw both again, I almost guarantee I'd like this a tiny bit less and that a tiny bit more. So if Phantom Thread isn't involved at all in the discussion, I'd say that the Academy got it right. Of course, they completely neglected mother!, the best movie of the year.