Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Literary Elements

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Literary Elements

Director

Martin McDonagh

Leading Actors/Actresses

Frances McDormand

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, and Caleb Landry Jones

Genre

Drama/Black Comedy

Language

English

Awards

Won the Academy Awards for: Best Actress for Frances McDormand and Best Supporting Actor for Sam Rockwell. It was nominated, but did not win, the following Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Harrelson, Best Original Score, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing

Date of Release

November 10th, 2017

Producer

Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, and Martin McDonagh

Setting and Context

The fictional town of Ebbing, Missouri

Narrator and Point of View

Told through the point of view of Mildred Hayes

Tone and Mood

Sad, solemn, depressing, violent, and evil

Protagonist and Antagonist

Mildred (Protagonist) vs. A number of different antagonists (including Officer Dixon)

Major Conflict

Mildred's attempt to bring her daughters killer to justice while taking the Ebbing Police Department to task for their ineptitude

Climax

When Mildred firebombs the police station

Foreshadowing

Dixon's transformation from a racist, violent police officer to a decent overall man is foreshadowed in his conversations with Police Chief Willoughby

Understatement

Dixon's racism is understated throughout much of the film

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

N/A

Allusions

To these films: Seven Psychopaths, In Bruges, Don't Look Now, Six Shooter, Fargo, and Natural Born Killers.

Also, to current events, religion, McDonagh's plays, mythology, and other popular culture.

Paradox

Mildred puts her billboards up in an area which very few people pass by, but she hopes to gain a lot of attention for her cause.

Parallelism

N/A

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