Story Overview

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri centers on Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), a grieving mother struggling to cope with the brutal rape and murder of her daughter, Angela. Convinced that the local authorities—led by Sheriff Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson)—have failed to take meaningful action, Mildred grows increasingly disillusioned as months pass without a single solid lead in the case.

Driven by frustration and unresolved grief, Mildred makes a bold and controversial decision. She rents three large billboards on the outskirts of town and fills them with accusatory messages directed at the sheriff, publicly calling out what she sees as institutional indifference and incompetence. Her act of defiance shocks the community and ignites intense conflict, as she stands alone against law enforcement, social pressure, and moral judgment.

The film unfolds as a powerful examination of grief, anger, justice, and redemption, portraying how pain can harden into rage—and how the search for truth can expose the deepest fractures within a small town.