MovieChat Forums > Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) Discussion > Mildred's motivation

Mildred's motivation

posted 7 years ago by johnral (138)
5 replies | jump to latest

The driving event behind the movie is Mildred's placement of 3 billboards regarding her daughter's murder, to presumably put pressure on the police to solve the murder. Mildred is basically portrayed as the "good guy" in the movie, for whom we are rooting. She is eccentric, but she is not a nut; she is very intelligent. So one thing I don't get is why she would place these billboards at all. The police chief (Woody) explained all of this extremely well in their encounter. All of the leads went nowhere. The DNA did not match anybody. Mildred suggested that he get DNA from everybody in the town, but the chief correctly explained that he can't do this. He further explained in the movie that these murders are usually solved when the killer confesses in a bar or in a jail cell, and that is completely true. Many crimes are not solved by the pro-active investigation by the police, but rather by the perpetrator running his mouth (or doing something else stupid, such as returning to the scene of the crime). Mildred does not ever really demonstrate that the police are neglecting their duties in any specific sense.
I want to pull for Mildred, but this basic premise underlying the movie just seems off. This would work if in fact the police were not doing their job, but every indication in the movie is that the chief does care about solving the crime and has done everything he can. So if the chief is not really a bad guy, and is not neglecting the investigation, then why place the billboards?
If the billboards were focused on the killer (and not the sheriff), for the purpose of getting a tipster to come forward or to keep the crime in the news, that would make sense; but attacking the chief just does not seem to make sense. I understand that Mildred would be in great pain following the loss of her daughter; I got that. And those things can make people act irrationally. But it seems to be flaw in the structure of the movie.

[–] Tricklebrook (314) 7 years ago

I actually thought that was the strength of the movie. It paints a picture of a painful, messy situation and shows how a person can go off the rails trying to deal with it. Mildred is wracked with guilt and grief and is thrashing about, trying to find some resolution. She wants the chief to be as desperate to solve the crime as she is and she transforms that desperation into anger that he hasn't solved it. And then mutates that into thinking he hasn't solved it because he doesn't care. It seems like something that would really happen, people behaving unreasonably and everything not working out the way we'd want it to.

[–] President4Life (282) 7 years ago

Agreed.

People tend not to be in their most rational state after tragedy.

[–] Ace_Spade (9575) 5 years ago

100%. It also speaks to Mildred's desperation and makes her sympathetic but flawed - great character work.

[–] lemner (231) 7 years ago

She does explain that she believes that the more attention that is focused on the case, the more likely it is to be solved, which is true. Getting all the locals to keep thinking about it makes it more likely that someone will remember something or notice something, as Dixon did with the guy in the bar.

[–] Burk48917 (11386) 6 years ago

I never saw her as the good guy. I think the only good guy in the movie was Woody. Her character was real, but misguided, and possibly self aware of her misdirected anger. She didn't deny the ex husband's comment that "at least I know it won't bring her back" when referring to banging young girls. She commits many crimes, and often misguided attempts at vigilante justice. I'd almost say she's the antagonist, but done very sly.