"Anger begets greater anger." says Penelope (Samara Weaving), Mildred's (Frances McDormand) ex-husband's totally non stereotypical nineteen year old new girlfriend, who delivers the film's theme in what is supposed to be another comedic moment where we are all supposed to laugh at this beautiful but shallow girl's attempt at sounding smart, and yet, it falls flat, like the vast majority of both dramatic and comedic moments.

I just want to clarify before going any further that In Bruges, Martin McDonagh's directorial debut, is one of my absolute favorite films. One that navigates comedy and drama perfectly, brilliantly written and acted, I could go on for days on how perfect In Bruges is, in my humble opinion.

Sadly, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri fails miserably where In Bruges succeeded. It constantly tries to navigate the difficult line between dark comedy and drama, and mostly, it falls flat on its head.

The thematic thread may be to blame here. Without spoiling the plot, the setup is simple: Frances McDormand wants some form of justice for her daughter's brutal murder. She gets the local police department's attention by setting up three billboards complaining about their inability to solve the case. But her action only generates more conflict in town and while it does draw attention to her daughter's case, it leads to increasing tension between her and pretty much everyone else around her. Her anger literally begets more anger and, ultimately, solves nothing.

This is a surprisingly simple moralistic viewpoint coming from the man whose first film was so morally complex and ambiguous and it results in the creation of equally shallow characters and a plot that desperately tries to make sense of its many pointless turns.

To be fair, McDonagh attempts to humanize its more prominent characters: Mildred (McDormand), in spite of being a tough and wooden most of the time, shows deep vulnerability in an unfortunately insufferably cheesy monologue she gives to a deer. Meanwhile, Dixon (Sam Rockwell), the "black torturer," displays humanity later in the movie and tries really hard to find redemption when he is shown the way.

Unfortunately those attempts are so sudden and awkward or poorly executed that they lack believability and feel like they were artificially implemented to make these characters seem deeper than they really are.

Throughout the film, it feels like the filmmaker is more interested in hammering his simplistic viewpoint and using small town America as a perfect setting for it - even though it never feels like he has actually ever spent time there - than to craft a story with a coherent through line and inhabited by humane, relatable characters.

There was so much talent involved in the making of this film - and in spite of everything, Sam Rockwell delivers a stellar performance - that it is truly frustrating that the end result be so mediocre. Hopefully, McDonagh will course correct on his next film.