“Is everyone so angry?” she asked, shaking her head.
Walking out of the theater, my neighbor muttered something about American violence. The film follows Mildred’s confrontations with Chief Bill Willoughby, Officer Jason Dixon, and various other locals, including the town priest, the “fat dentist”, her abusive ex-husband Charlie, and can-throwing teenagers.Īs a native Southerner who lives in Belfast, I was interested in the local reception to this film, especially after I learned of the writer-director’s Irish roots. The titular Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri are Mildred’s way of calling out the local police force for their investigative failures in the case of her daughter Angela, who was raped, murdered, and set ablaze seven months prior. “That’s right, I’m Angela Hayes’s mother,” Mildred Hayes, played by Frances McDormand, says ruefully, and viewers begin to learn why this woman wants to rent billboards, and why that’s making the local ad man nervous. It’s fun escapism: we can watch these self-centered step-siblings play tricks we would never dream of, and take guesses as to who will fall and how.Warning: spoilers for the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri abound. It manages to blend a bit of each of these genres very entertainingly, almost like a condensed soap opera. It’s not terribly erotic (more suggestive, to be honest), nor very funny (though Blair’s Cecille is kind of ridiculous). The style of Cruel Intentions – apart from being very clearly glamorous – seems to be up for debate: some have called it a romantic comedy, others an erotic thriller.
#THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI ENDING EXPLAINED TV#
Both have moved more into glossy TV shows, and their respective styles worked great in combination here. Moritz is known largely for action films and Kumble for, well this (and its follow-up The Sweetest Thing). Moritz produced Cruel Intentions, and Roger Kumble wrote and directed it. Those grapes may look delicious, but they don’t taste any good. This adaptation, in my opinion, was both cleverly done and bold: does a scandalous tale of corruption in pre-Revolution nobility fit neatly in twentieth-century high school? I declare it does: Cruel Intentions serves as a warning to beware of the pretty and popular set, while at the same time giving us a lifestyle to daydream about. Granted, there have been other film adaptations, but they have all been longer, and more serious period affairs. The book was huge, initially published in four volumes in the form of letters and the film squeezes as much of the book’s zig-zagging drama as possible into 97 minutes hence the – understandable – lack of depth. Like the original book, it is steamy and sleazy but unlike said book, it takes place amongst wealthy New York teenagers, rather than French aristocracy. See, Cruel Intentions is the 1999 adaptation of Les Liaisons dangereuses, the 1782 novel by Choderlos de Laclos.
The script – though lacking in depth – is very cleverly written. Other familiar faces included Louise Fletcher, Joshua Jackson, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Swoosie Kurtz. Philippe’s and Witherspoon’s roles are the ones that truly develop in the film and they both showed just as much breadth as the script required. Geller is usually cast as the good girl, and she had not long been established as Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Cruel Intentions came out and gave her a good opportunity to play something different (though it isn’t a terribly demanding role).
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