Issue 72 - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

In this issue…

Masters of War
A conversation with Three Billboards director Martin McDonagh on getting the best from his leading lady, Frances McDormand. Interview by Adam Woodward.

Blue Flamer: A Sam Rockwell Confessional
The beloved character actor offers his first-person testimony on how best to play a member of the police. As told to Adam Woodward

Good Cop / Bad Cop
Our definitive line-up of cinema’s most angelic and devilish screen law enforcers. By Adam Lee Davies and David Jenkins.

Woman Blue
A short history of the most potty-mouthed dames that Hollywood ever saw. By Caroline Golum.

Threads # 4
Christina Newland explores the world of female headscarves in her regular column on clothes and movies.

Sometimes, being polite just doesn’t quite cut the mustard. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a brilliant new film from British writer/director Martin McDonagh which tests this thesis from all angles, showcasing the actions of a bitter local resident and the challenge she throws down to the local police constabulary.

Frances McDormand stars as lone female avenger Mildred, who buys up the space on three musty old billboards to ask why the local sheriff has failed to make inroads into the case of her dead daughter who was raped and murdered one year back.

In this expletive-ridden issue, we explore what it means to abide by the law, and what it means to crave justice. We spoke to the talented people behind the film and discovered the clues to bringing an intricate script to life – and the intricacies of playing a police officer on screen.