THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI took home the SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, as well as the Actor statuettes for Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell. A last stand erupts in Martin McDonagh’s trip into small town America in THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, as a mother is pushed to the edge by her daughter’s unsolved murder. The film is the third from Martin McDonagh, the Irish playwright, screenwriter and director known for the hit thriller IN BRUGES, with its Oscar® nominated and BAFTA winning Screenplay, and the crime comedy SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS.
The 24th Annual SAG Awards was hosted by Kristen Bell and aired on TNT/TBS. It was the actors’ party in the actors’ house, when many of film and television’s brightest stars mingled with friends and colleagues while recognizing outstanding achievements by their peers. The SAG Awards embodied culture, style and community as the actors and actresses walked the red carpet at the Shrine Auditorium.
Honored with individual awards were Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård, Claire Foy, Sterling K. Brown, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and William H. Macy for performances in television. The Screen Actors Guild Awards originated awards for the outstanding performances by television drama and comedy ensembles. The Actor® for television drama and comedy ensemble performances went this year to “This is Us” and “Veep.”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
FRANCES McDORMAND / Mildred – “THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI” (Fox Searchlight)
A love story between a girl and a sea creature, a satire reflecting racial issues in today’s society, and two inspiring lessons of four weeks in 1940 during which Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s courage to lead changed the course of world history and one of the greatest suspense stories of all time where British and Allied troops, trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea, faced an impossible situation as the enemy closed in. Horror, fantasy, historical epic, comedy, drama… the motion pictures tales of 2017 had something for all.
Theater marquees were filled with familiar titles such as STAR WARS, INDEPENDENCE DAY, ALIEN, BLADE RUNNER, and KONG while Guardians, Superheroes and Wonder Women saved the day once again.
Cinema-goers were offered a fresh perspective on the parent-child bond, an insightful look as two giant newspapers expose a massive cover-up of government secrets, as well as a dark comic drama where a mother makes a bold move to solve her daughter’s murder.
As with every holiday season, critics groups are revealing their top 10 films of the year. Awards season is truly upon us.
Three hundred forty-one feature films are eligible for the 2017 Academy Awards in the Best Picture category. The St. Louis Film Critics Association announced as their best film of 2017 Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy romance, THE SHAPE OF WATER.
Tune in Sunday, March 4th for the 90th Oscars.
Here’s a look back at the motion pictures of the past twelve months.
WAMG presents the top ten films of 2017, along with our honorable mention and most awesome soundtrack.
Honorable Mention:
THE DISASTER ARTIST
Ironic that the creator of what many label the ‘worst film of all time’ gets one of the best Hollywood-themed biopics ever made about him. THE DISASTER ARTIST stands out as one successful outsider’s tribute to a failed kindred spirit. It’s the funniest film of 2017 and one of the best. (REVIEW)
Best Soundtrack:
BABY DRIVER
What might be the most astonishing feat but feels effortless, is the editing accompanied with each carefully selected song. The soundtrack, which runs the gamut from 60’s R&B like Carla Thomas, 70’s punk including The Damned, and a dash of modern hip-hop with Run the Jewels, is used throughout the film to coincide with the action, making the film the equivalent of an action movie musical. It’s one thing to listen to these songs, but it’s completely different watching how each drum beat and chord change matches perfectly with the film. (REVIEW)
10. COCO
After a trio of so-so features, Pixar breaks new ground with this visually stunning masterwork set “south of the border” and the Day of the Dead celebrations. An odd choice for “all ages” film animation, but this explores themes far beyond most “kiddie” flicks. Yes, the colors, from the after-life cities to the flourescent hybrid “spirit animals”, dazzle, but the movie’s real strength is its tribute to family legacies. And like the best of Pixar’s classic it packs a real emotional punch to the heart. (REVIEW)
9. DARKEST HOUR
Director Joe Wright reports, “Daytime meals for Winston would often be accompanied by a glass of white wine and/or scotch, and because of the hours he kept it was not unusual for him to hold meetings from his bed, or even from his bath. He’d dictate memos for the day from bed and receive visitors and talk about matters of state wearing his dressing gown and nightshirt.” This is only a partial glimpse into the man that saved the British Empire from almost certain invasion by the Nazis. This is what’s so great about DARKEST HOUR – establishing the character traits of the British Bulldog! He was the architect of the Operation Dynamo boat rescue at Dunkirk, where civilian crafts and everyday people were called upon to help get their countrymen home. One of best films on the eccentric PM, gloriously portrayed by Gary Oldman, it is a fine bookend to Christopher Nolan’s DUNKIRK. The other noteworthy performance is that of Dame Kristin Scott Thomas as Churchill’s wife, Clementine. Conveying class and distinction, intelligence and sharp wit, the Oscar nominated actress was the perfect match for Oldman on-screen. (REVIEW)
8. LOGAN
Photo Credit: James Mangold.
James Mangold has delivered an X-Men film unlike any that has come before it. After the initial shock of hearing the character use the f-word followed by the limb-severing visceral violence, what will hit the hardest for fans is witnessing Mangold slice open and get to the emotional core of this beloved character we have watched evolve for now eight films (nine if you count a brief cameo). LOGAN is a poetic journey that is about unexpectedly finding new life after giving up on cheating death. (REVIEW)
7. THE BIG SICK
A comedy that does not sound funny when you describe it, THE BIG SICK is a hilarious comedy that takes a potential tragedy, mixes it with cross-cultural romance and an American son coping with his Pakistani immigrant parents, to find a vein of unexpected comedy gold. Bitingly funny yet insightful, the story is partly based on the real life of comedian Kamail Nanjiani. THE BIG SICK has more twists than you can imagine, and a hilarious, jaw-dropping performance by a fierce Holly Hunter, in a tale that provokes hilarious laughs and deep thought on the meaning of love, family and the classic second-generation American tale. (REVIEW)
6. DUNKIRK
Sometimes when you have been through hell and back, there isn’t anything you can say to properly convey the emotions and the experience. Without saying much, Christopher Nolan tries to express the raw emotions of war by dropping the viewer into the scenario as opposed to explaining the how and the why of the situation. While some might be hoping for more from the story, perhaps Nolan is actually saying much more amid the cacophony of racing hearts, plane engines, bullet-riddled metal, and silent soldiers looking for hope as the waves and bombs crash against the beach. (REVIEW)
5. THE POST
Steven Spielberg delivers a fabulous film about the Nixon-era Pentagon Papers and the Washington Post’s 1973 decision to publish them, told as a gripping, intrigue-packed, period thriller, about freedom of the press and with a feminist undercurrent. Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are outstanding as Washington Post owner Katherine Graham and editor Ben Bradlee, who defy the restraining order the Nixon administration placed on the New York Times to publish the secret papers about the Vietnam War that led to Watergate and Richard Nixon’s resignation. It is Spielberg’s best film in years.
4. GET OUT
This past February, Jordan Peele, half of a wildly successful cable TV comedy team, made his feature film solo writing and directing debut by taking movie audiences on a memorable journey to the “Sunken Place”. Originally promoted as a horror thriller, it turned out to be so much more, at times a rowdy comedy, but also a scathing satire on society that still has us talking today. And if you were fortunate enough to see it in a packed theatre, you know that Peele is an exciting new cinema voice. And I’ll bet he just breezes through the airport now thanks to this flick. (REVIEW)
3. THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
With top-notch work from an imaginatively-assembled cast headed by Frances McDormand, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI combines sweet-natured cheer with twisted malice, and unspeakable grief with offbeat humor, all set against a familiar mid-Missouri backdrop. The result is a modern masterpiece. (REVIEW)
2. LADY BIRD
Just as with Jordan Peele’s GET OUT, this year we were stunned by the superb solo writing and directing debut of another actor, Greta Gerwig. She took the “coming of age”, “young person at a crossroad” comedy/drama and elevated it to a new level by giving us a throughly real, very complex main character. It helps that she’s brought to life by the exquisite Saoirse Ronan, who truly shines in the honest complicated relationship with her mother, played by the great Laurie Metcalf in a most memorable performance. It’s in those scenes that LADY BIRD takes flight and soars. (REVIEW)
Magical, evocative THE SHAPE OF WATER blends Cold War thriller, romance, and monster movie genres in director Guillermo Del Toro’s best film since PAN’S LABYRINTH. Cinematically and as entertainment, THE SHAPE OF WATER exceeds on all levels. There is fine acting by an excellent cast, a story that offers a thought-provoking twist on the monster genre, beautiful moody photography, magical visual effects, and brilliant direction. Sally Hawkins is amazing in the lead role, creating an appealing and mysterious character we fall in love with, all without speaking a word. (REVIEW)
Films we can’t wait to see in 2018: DEADPOOL 2, MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, BLACK PANTHER, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, WINCHESTER, ANNIHILATION, DEATH WISH, A WRINKLE IN TIME, PACIFIC RIM UPRISING, READY PLAYER ONE, THE NEW MUTANTS, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, INCREDIBLES 2, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, THE PREDATOR, VENOM, HALLOWEEN, CREED 2, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK-IT RALPH 2, MARY POPPINS RETURNS, and Damien Chazelle’s FIRST MAN (the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong. Stars Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy. October 2018).
Check out our contributors individual picks for the year that was 2017.
Jim Batts
THE SHAPE OF WATER
COCO
LADY BIRD
THE POST
THE BIG SICK
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
PHANTOM THREAD
BRAD’S STATUS
GET OUT
Other Favorites: THE DISASTER ARTIST
Tom Stockman
DUNKIRK
THE DISASTER ARTIST
THE SHAPE OF WATER
COCO
BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99
KONG SKULL ISLAND
BRAD’S STATUS
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MO
LOGAN LUCKY
A DOG’S PURPOSE
Other Favorites: BLADE RUNNER 2049, MOTHER!, WIND RIVER, AMERICAN MADE
Cate Marquis
THE POST
THE SHAPE OF WATER
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
BLADE RUNNER 2049
THE BIG SICK
DARKEST HOUR
GET OUT
LADY BIRD
A GHOST STORY
PHANTOM THREAD
Other Favorites: THE BEGUILED, LADY MACBETH, FACES PLACES, DUNKIRK, FLORIDA PROJECT
Frances McDormand gives her best performance since FARGO over two decades ago in THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBIBG, MISSOURI which, despite its cumbersome title, is one of the best films of 2017. She plays Mildred Hayes, a middle-aged divorcee who, out of grief and frustration, rents three dilapidated billboards outside the sleepy burg of Ebbing, Missouri (look it up – it’s one town over from Blaine) and has them decked with incriminating messages; “RAPED WHILE DYING”,“AND STILL NO ARRESTS”, and “HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?” Mildred is basically declaring war on Ebbing’s Police Chief, William Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), but the locals are incensed at her, mostly because the Chief is not only widely beloved, but he’s also dying of pancreatic cancer. Mildred doesn’t care what her neighbors think or of Willoughby’s fine character and impending death. She’s just angry because several months have passed and not enough has been done to catch the culprit that’d raped and murdered her daughter Angela, and then burned her corpse. Deputy Dixon (Sam Rockwell), a short-tempered mama’s boy with a penchant for beating prisoners (or at least the black ones), is most annoyed by Mildred’s antics and nobody is safe from his violent wrath, especially young Red Welby (Caleb Landry Jones), who’d rented Mildred the billboards in the first place. Mildred’s resentful teenage son Robbie (Lucas Hedges) is forced to face the torment of his fellow high-schoolers who support Chief Willoughby while her ex-husband, Charlie (John Hawkes), shacked up with 19-year old Penelope (Samara Weaving), is also strongly opposed to her actions. Mildred’s only support comes from James (Peter Dinklage), a sweet midget with a crush on her and Denise (Amanda Warren), her co-worker at the local gift shop who ends up in jail as punishment for their friendship. The whole plot goes terribly wrong, violently and comically, and the less I tell you about THREE BILLBOARDS, the more you will enjoy it.
A comic thriller with a deadpan tone, THREE BILLBOARDS is armed with terrific performances and memorable characters written by director Martin McDonagh. Standing above it all is this most unlikely heroine portrayed beautifully by Frances McDormand. Mixing biting comedic timing with acid-tongued, rage-fueled despair, Mildred’s tough to embrace. Her general demeanor is vulgar and off-putting and there’s a terribly sad moment in flashback where she flippantly tells her doomed daughter (Kathryn Newton) that she hopes that she’s raped and murdered walking home. There’s a great scene when local priest Father Montgomery (Nick Searcy) comes to her home to urge Mildred to take the billboards down since, after all, Chief Willoughby didn’t commit the murder. She launches into an angry tirade about culpability, questioning that, since laws have been tailored to indict lawbreakers for the crimes of their accomplices, why shouldn’t police be held responsible for unsolved crimes. It’s one of several commanding speeches the actress delivers in the film. Sam Rockwell has been receiving well-deserved acclaim for his work in THREE BILLBOARDS and McDonagh does a better job of reining him in here than he did with SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS, where the actor tried way too hard to steal every scene. Deputy Dixon is a bully with a badge and a gun and he seems like someone the audience will never sympathize with…until they do. Even better is Woody Harrelson, providing a surprisingly moving mix of toughness and tenderness as Willoughby. Watch for a heartbreaking, wonderfully-acted moment where Willoughby coughs blood all over Mildred’s face while interrogating her. All of the supporting cast in THREE BILLBOARDS are at the top of their game, from Caleb Landry Jones’s goofy sign salesman to Abbie Cornish’ role as Willoughby’s loving wife to John Hawkes’s tense and wiry turn as Mildred’s ex (director McDonagh generates great tension in a scene where she delivers a wine bottle to him at a restaurant, wielding it like a club). I wish Peter Dinklage’s James had been better fleshed out as he was the one character that didn’t quite fit in, but overall this is top-notch work from an imaginatively-assembled cast. With THREE BILLBOARDS, sweet-natured cheer is combined with twisted malice, and unspeakable grief with offbeat humor, all set against a familiar mid-Missouri backdrop. The result is a modern masterpiece and highly recommended.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI opens in St. Louis on Wednesday November 22nd. WAMG has your free passes to see the film first!
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI is a darkly comedic drama from Academy Award® winner Martin McDonagh (IN BRUGES). After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (Academy Award® winner Frances McDormand) makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Academy Award® nominee Woody Harrelson), the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.
Fox Searchlight Pictures and Film 4 present, a Blueprint Pictures production, a Martin McDonagh film, written and directed by Martin McDonagh, starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Željko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones, Clarke Peters, Samara Weaving with John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI on November 13 at 7:00 pm in the St. Louis area.
Answer the Following:
Playing Mildred Hayes, who sets the events of THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI in motion, is Frances McDormand. McDormand made her film debut in which Coen Brothers’ noir classic?
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWER AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house.
From the director who helmed the brilliant IN BRUGES, SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS, Martin McDonagh, comes the first trailer for Fox Searchlight Pictures’ THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI.
Full disclosure – I’m a huge fan of this McDonagh and SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS and IN BRUGES were two of the best films of 2012 and 2008. See both if you missed them in the cinemas!
In the meantime, watch the red-band preview below.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI is a darkly comic drama from Academy Award winning filmmaker McDonagh.
After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (Academy Award winner Frances McDormand) makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson), the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.
The movie also features Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Željko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones, Clarke Peters, Samantha Weaving with John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage.
