'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri'- review/analysis

I am currently taking part in the BFI film academy which will result in a silver arts award. One of the requirements to complete this is to watch a film and create a short review/ analysis and post it on an external blog to an audience.

This review also correlates with the current research I am doing on my music video as the elements I looked at in the film are elements I could use in my video.

This is the link to my blog where I am fulfilling the requirements for the silver arts award: https://georgiabfisilveraward.blogspot.com/

Review/ short analysis of 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri'

On the 23rd of October I visited the cinema to watch 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri'. The film is about a mother whose child was raped and murdered and she feels injustice for the lack of police work into the crime. A continuous motif that I noticed throughout the film was the use of colour, particularly the colour red. This first appears at the start of the film through the use of the billboards, the background of the billboards are red and have a clear black font. The red contrasts with the setting around the billboards which is empty and rural with dull, faded colors. This links to the uproar the billboards had in the town as it is something unexpected, shown by it's difference to the setting. As well as using red to highlight the importance of the billboards as they are a main element to the film and appear in the title, they also represent danger and panic. On the other hand, the red could also have connotations of love which relates to the reason the mother decided to have them put up. The continuous motif of red also is repeated later when Jason is on the verge of committing suicide. The room has a red light once again indicating danger. It could also be argued, the red appears through the fire when the station is burned down. The main character and mother Mildred Haynes is also often seen wearing red, indicating her strive for justice and the actions she will go to to receive it. Overall, although the film is not something I would normally watch I did enjoy it and felt a sense of familiarity and connection through the crime presented as sexual assault in young women is a crime I am particularly aware of due to being one myself. I would recommend the film to anyone as it is a area that needs light shed upon and Mildred's love for her daughter may relate to many mothers, fathers and children.