Out the Window
Dixon throws Red out of the second story window in the young man's office. McDonagh's imagery of the hatemonger Dixon abusing his power is seen with a handheld camera following the ignorant cop through the street, up the stairs after breaking the glass of the door to Red's business then into the office where he assaults the kid and throws him from the window. The feeling of unwanted anticipation of violence is a core creation in McDonagh's work. What makes it even more haunting is the accompanying song that sounds soothing, as if everything will be alright when it is absolutely not. This juxtaposition, in my viewpoint, allows the audience to mourn the violence while witnessing it simultaneously, rather than simply experiencing the assault with nowhere for the emotion to go. The director's ability to create the opportunity for catharsis is pivotal in his film making, as it sets a very specific tone.
Orange Juice
Dixon, after he is burned, has his face fully wrapped in gauze and is wheeled into the same room as Red, the young man whom he threw out of a second story window. Red is traumatized when he learns it's Dixon, but we watch as he pours a glass of orange juice for his attacker. The imagery reveals the broken heart and still very open wound of Red, but also the truth of who he is as a person: someone who would rather forgive than live in his pain and hatred for the rest of his life (as Dixon does).
Head of the Table
Father Montgomery visits Mildred and Robbie to tell her that no one is behind her about the billboards she's put up, and she needs to take them down. The Father sitting at the head of Mildred's table with her son makes it appear that he is the authority. But when Mildred breaks down "culpability" to him we see clearly that he is a man that has no authority in her household, no matter where he sits.
Along the way
Mildred and Dixon drive along together to find the man who raped and killed her daughter. She tells him that she is the one who burned down the police station and burnt him. He essentially says that he already knew. The two characters together in the same small space on the way to do something violent. The imagery shows how two completely different points of view have come together for one common goal. And what's most important about this imagery is that neither of the characters know if they want to do what they are setting out to do.
