Martin McDonagh's THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI: year's best?

As someone who detested In Bruges but very much enjoyed Seven Psychopaths, TrustMovies has now become a firm fan of writer/director Martin McDonagh (shown below), whose latest endeavor, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, is currently gracing screens nationwide. This is, head and shoulders, the Britisher's best, deepest and most grown-up work yet.

In it, characters keep evolving (or at least broadening and deepening), even as the tale takes one surprise twist after another, not one of which seems finally off-base in the least. If that were not accomplishment enough, the movie is acted to near perfection by its entire cast. And as crazy as events sometimes seem, the actors keep it all grounded in reality, even as we audience members gasp, chuckle and laugh aloud at the goings-on. So adept is McDonagh at dialog, as well as in his understanding of human behavior, violence, caring, family and other concerns that he and his cast nail every scene while keeping us glued and on our toes.

Every cast member deserves great praise, but the movie belongs to its three stars: Frances McDormand above, left), Woody Harrelson (above, right) and the as-usual amazing Sam Rockwell (below).

The less said about plot, the better, since you deserve to be a tabula rasa going into this movie. You might call it a "police non-procedural" if you were so inclined, but murder mystery, family drama/comedy, character(s)-in-transition study, and unique vision of small town American life would do just as well.

I won't say more so that I can get this post up today. Just put Three Billboards on your must-see list. From Fox Searchlight and running 115 minutes, the movie is playing all over the country. Click here to find the theater(s) nearest you.