I’ve always had a bizarre soft spot for desolate America. It’s cinematic landscapes, it’s seemingly endless time and simplicity, it’s atmosphere of the forgotten. Ebbing Missouri has all this. It also has Frances McDormund in all her powerhouse, scene chewing majesty. She’s not alone though, the cast here is fantastic! Absolutely, razor sharp, gut punchingly brilliant. This is a serious story though, about rape, murder, injustice, power, corrupt institutions and family values, it’s not light hearted whimsy. But make no mistake, if you get into trouble, you want McDormund in your corner. Look up badass in the dictionary and you’ll be greeted with a picture of ‘Mildred Hayes’ staring back at you, ready to deliver a line that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up so far, you’ll give the nearest deranged hedgehog a run for its money. All this makes this imminently watchable, with a slew of complex characters living in that aforementioned simple world, every scene delivers beautifully with not a single wrong turn. The script is dynamite, one amazing line after another, “You do not allow a member of the public to call you fuckhead in this station house” or “This time, the chick ain’t losin”. Whether it’s the unusual verbal dexterity of Rockwell or the facial inferences from Harrelson, despite the seriousness of the crimes surrounding this story, the black humour delivers epic vistas of light and it’s absolutely glorious!
9/10
