By Kevin Ludy ’19

I knew almost nothing about this movie going into it. I knew that it had recently won four Golden Globes and had potential for the Oscars, but the characters, plot and setting was completely unknown to me. What followed in the one hour and 55 minute runtime was entrancing, as I got invested in the rural town of Ebbing, Missouri.

The movie “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” came out on Nov. 10, but due to the Golden Globe wins, it received a boost in popularity during the past week. The main cast features Frances McDormand, who plays the main character, Mildred, Woody Harrelson, who plays the police chief, Willoughby and Sam Rockwell, who plays a police officer named Dixon.

This movie centers around Mildred, whose daughter was murdered seven months ago but the police department has found no leads as to who killed her. Feeling outraged, Mildred rents out three billboards on the road into town and puts eye catching messages hoping to spark conversation about the murders. It works, and soon after the whole town is buzzing about Mildred, the murder and the signs.

The characters in “Three Billboards” have great personalities and their interactions are believable. Their characters feel like real people and the audience connects with them. You can feel and relate to the struggle Mildred is going through even if you’ve never been in a situation like that.

For the most part, I enjoyed the plot. They had enough supporting and main characters to keep the audience interested, and the events that happened were unpredictable which kept me invested the whole time. There are some slow parts, but one part in particular where a character died I didn’t see coming, and it was one of the turning points in the movie that made it special.

The production quality on this movie was fantastic. The fictional town of Ebbing, Missouri feels real and it was almost shocking to find out that this place didn’t exist.

From panning shots of the rolling hills, to the classic small downtown shopping area the theme and setting of Ebbing, Missouri was fantastic.

This movie is perfect for what is going on today in the world, and is one of the reasons why it is affecting audience members around the world. The movie talks of big issues like racism, police brutality and rape which will spark conversations of these topics. A movie that covers issues like these are important and you can see why it is resonating with audience members.

I really enjoyed this movie and the town created in it. The movie did a great job of covering sensitive topics, along with having an interesting and unique storyline. I would give “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” a nine out of ten.