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I didn't see a thread on this one, and considering it seems to be a front-runner for Best Picture, I thought I'd open the discussion ...
Anyone else disappointed by this movie? I mean the performances were great, but about halfway through, the story started becoming extremely contrived.
A couple things I took issue with ...
Spoiler
Dixon's MASSIVE character shift, just because of a letter from Willoughby and a glass of orange juice from Red? All of a sudden he's a completely self-sacrificing crime fighter who is driven to get justice for Mildred's daughter, who he never cared about before??
And Mildred ... who seems to be a very smart woman, wants nothing more than to have her daughter's crime solved, so she torches the police department, where all records of the case exist?
And I'm sorry, but one does not suffer disfiguring burns and is out of the hospital and at a bar a couple days later.
The performances were top notch, and there was some pretty sharp, witty dialogue. But I didn't care for the story.
I didn't see a thread on this one, and considering it seems to be a front-runner for Best Picture, I thought I'd open the discussion ...
Anyone else disappointed by this movie? I mean the performances were great, but about halfway through, the story started becoming extremely contrived.
A couple things I took issue with ...
Spoiler
Dixon's MASSIVE character shift, just because of a letter from Willoughby and a glass of orange juice from Red? All of a sudden he's a completely self-sacrificing crime fighter who is driven to get justice for Mildred's daughter, who he never cared about before??
And Mildred ... who seems to be a very smart woman, wants nothing more than to have her daughter's crime solved, so she torches the police department, where all records of the case exist?
And I'm sorry, but one does not suffer disfiguring burns and is out of the hospital and at a bar a couple days later.
The performances were top notch, and there was some pretty sharp, witty dialogue. But I didn't care for the story.
Thanks for starting this thread. I just watched this movie for the second time yesterday.
I was actually pleasantly surprised by the movie. I think the action by Mildred that you reference was done out of pure rage. I don't think she was rationally thinking about the consequences.
As for the other character, I have seen transformations like that myself. I don't think it was too far-fetched.
I agree with the OP. Good movie but not worth an Oscar for Best Picture. I liked LadyBird & I Tonya better & feel those actresses performances were much more engaging,
I didn't see a thread on this one, and considering it seems to be a front-runner for Best Picture, I thought I'd open the discussion ...
Anyone else disappointed by this movie? I mean the performances were great, but about halfway through, the story started becoming extremely contrived.
A couple things I took issue with ...
Spoiler
Dixon's MASSIVE character shift, just because of a letter from Willoughby and a glass of orange juice from Red? All of a sudden he's a completely self-sacrificing crime fighter who is driven to get justice for Mildred's daughter, who he never cared about before??
And Mildred ... who seems to be a very smart woman, wants nothing more than to have her daughter's crime solved, so she torches the police department, where all records of the case exist?
And I'm sorry, but one does not suffer disfiguring burns and is out of the hospital and at a bar a couple days later.
The performances were top notch, and there was some pretty sharp, witty dialogue. But I didn't care for the story.
I agree with you.
I also think Rockwell is a lock for Best Supporting Actor, and that he should win (admittedly, I didn't see All The Money In The World, so I missed Christopher Plummer's performance), but I don't think 3 Billboards should win any other awards.
I hate when people commit category fraud. Rockwell is lead, not supporting. He is in it as much as McDormand.
I liked it but it was unfocused and bloated.
Out of all the wth things that happen, the most distracting thing was Woody's wife who looks like his daughter. My friend said that cop isn't making enough money to get her, lol.
It kind of bothered me that the movie had very little minor roles or extras, to sell the belief that the movie is really happening or at least based is on a story that could have happened. For one example, the police are so racist and violent against black people in the town, but you only saw 2 black people and a relocating police chief. It felt like a movie production blocked off certain areas of the town while the cast and crew were filming. Like an unintentional fourth wall effect.
The overall message and performances were well-made, but it's rare for a movie to kill my suspension of disbelief as much as this movie did.
I hate when people commit category fraud. Rockwell is lead, not supporting. He is in it as much as McDormand.
I liked it but it was unfocused and bloated.
I agree with L2R's comment (on the other thread) that the script doesn't serve McDormand well, which is pretty sad considering it is my understanding that that role was essentially written with McDormand in mind for the role.
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Out of all the wth things that happen, the most distracting thing was Woody's wife who looks like his daughter. My friend said that cop isn't making enough money to get her, lol.
Same with the new girlfriend of the dad of the murdered daughter.
With both, the casting seemed inspired by 'straight male Boomer studio executive bias' (and I'm a straight, male Boomer ).
I LOVE France McDormand, so I was very much looking forward to seeing 3 Billboards. I finally I saw the movie last night, and it actually made me angry because it was so completely inauthentic.
It was written and directed by a Brit who hasn't a clue about Americans or American life.
Every aspect of the movie rang false.
Oh, warn't those country people all so racist and sexist and littlepeopleist (except for the ones that had sweet Black freyunds), and wasn't they all so changed so proFOUNDLY for the better by the events in this movie?
What on earth accent were they all doing? Everyone did something different, and none of them were accurate to any part of Missouri.
What on earth town were they portraying? Downtown sure looked healthy and sweet, the countryside beautiful, and it sure harbored all of the Hollywood allotted character stereotypes.
Wasn't every character in the movie such a precious CHARACTER? Who on earth were these people? The only one of the bunch that rang true was the son. McDormand's character was far too strong in every other way to also have been a recently abused wife. The moment of abuse between the husband (Hawkes) and the son and wife was so completely false it was disturbing - such a tired modern movie trope. The ditsy girls (in the billboard office and the abusive husband's new girlfriend) simply don't exist in real life, but are definitely a male movie writer's fantasy. And as been said ad infinitum, ALL of the characters changed their intelligence level and feelings and motivations much too rapidly for no particular reason at all. The letter from the sheriff to Sam Rockwell made him smarter and more humane a blink of an eye? Well of course! Hawkes' character will treat his new girlfriend better from now on because he saw the light? Well of course! McDormand's character will jump in the car with this guy who so recently had traumatized her? Well of course!
It doesn't help that I saw this movie right after viewing Ladybird, which was one of the most completely authentic movies I've ever seen (though Ronan's Irish accent did creep in pretty frequently.) I was bored by Ladybird, but it was accurate to it's very core.
I love Sam Rockwell, but if he wins for this false character in this bad movie it will be very aggravating.
I love Frances McDormand, but if she wins for this false character in this bad movie it will be very aggravating.
I LOVE France McDormand, so I was very much looking forward to seeing 3 Billboards. I finally I saw the movie last night, and it actually made me angry because it was so completely inauthentic.
It was written and directed by a Brit who hasn't a clue about Americans or American life.
Ahhh...perhaps that is why, even with writing the character with McDormand in mind....he still got it wrong.
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Every aspect of the movie rang false.
Oh, warn't those country people all so racist and sexist and littlepeopleist (except for the ones that had sweet Black freyunds), and wasn't they all so changed so proFOUNDLY for the better by the events in this movie?
What on earth accent were they all doing? Everyone did something different, and none of them were accurate to any part of Missouri.
What on earth town were they portraying? Downtown sure looked healthy and sweet, the countryside beautiful, and it sure harbored all of the Hollywood allotted character stereotypes.
It didn't look like any part of Missouri I've been to...even parts of the Ozarks I've been to near the Arkansas border (at least as far as I can remember). The terrain around the town was too steep. That filming was in North Carolina.
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Wasn't every character in the movie such a precious CHARACTER? Who on earth were these people? The only one of the bunch that rang true was the son. McDormand's character was far too strong in every other way to also have been a recently abused wife. The moment of abuse between the husband (Hawkes) and the son and wife was so completely false it was disturbing - such a tired modern movie trope. The ditsy girls (in the billboard office and the abusive husband's new girlfriend) simply don't exist in real life, but are definitely a male movie writer's fantasy. And as been said ad infinitum, ALL of the characters changed their intelligence level and feelings and motivations much too rapidly for no particular reason at all. The letter from the sheriff to Sam Rockwell made him smarter and more humane a blink of an eye? Well of course! Hawkes' character will treat his new girlfriend better from now on because he saw the light? Well of course! McDormand's character will jump in the car with this guy who so recently had traumatized her? Well of course!
I largely agree, except I did like Rockwell's performance...but can't poke any holes in your critique of same.
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It doesn't help that I saw this movie right after viewing Ladybird, which was one of the most completely authentic movies I've ever seen (though Ronan's Irish accent did creep in pretty frequently.) I was bored by Ladybird, but it was accurate to it's very core.
I agree. I'm an SF Bay Area native who also spent a lot of time in Sacramento and the area around Sacramento from the 1960s through the late 2000s. We have family friends who live in the Fab 40s, and I've spent some time there. One side of my family is Catholic, and I've heard four generations of stories about all girls Catholic schools, which enhanced my appreciation of the school aspects of the movie.
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I love Sam Rockwell, but if he wins for this false character in this bad movie it will be very aggravating.
I don't embrace the above, but I understand it re your explanation above.
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I love Frances McDormand, but if she wins for this false character in this bad movie it will be very aggravating.
I agree with all of your points about authenticity, but I think the movie was still entertaining. I also love McDormand, and I will also be aggravated if McDormand wins.
McDormand and Rockwell are winning. They are locks.
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