First have to give this film some credit. Especially Frances McDormand as leading actress. As a general story maybe it wasn't bad for this American moment. But gotta stop there.

As someone who grew up in Missouri, Ugh. Hard to swallow. Full of grotesque sterotypes and gratuitous violence. I couldn't figure out why it didn't feel at all like Missouri to me. Then saw that they filmed it in North Carolina near Asheville! Just gave everyone southern accents and affects, not necessarily Missouri accents, made every man but the advertiser a violent jerk. Everyone says fuck every third word. Not quite like the Missouri I know full of walmarts and fallen buildings and churches (NOT catholic). It is a billboard itself, one of east and west coast projections of the midwest.

The mother of Oliver had some authenticity, but the "people of color" were completely and utterly urban and out of place. There are no restaurants with white tablecloths and wine in my town or anywhere near. What I guess bothers me about it is that there are so, so many projections on the American midwest now that no one really cares to go and see...you know what is really there. Even if they make a movie about the place they don't go three states away to film it there?! And that just doesn't feel right. Where is the picture of that very active grief? Ok, so I guess it fell a bit short as a cultural piece for me in sum.

Oh wait, and the chief of police's wife has an English accent? Really?