Author: kbarrillea

I’m going to BEGIN this blog with a major digression. Please bear with me, it is important to the entire point of this review that you understand the following:

Have you ever seen a movie whose main protagonist ends up NOT being the person you were focused on?

Mary Poppins springs to mind. Throughout most of the entire movie you believe you are watching a cute story about Jane and Michael Banks with their magical nanny, until nearing the end, as Mr. Banks walks the dark streets of London to his almost certain career destroying meeting with his employer, he passes the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral and understands that he has failed as a father.  It is then that any movie goer paying attention realizes the movie has been about this well meaning but distracted parent all along and the goal is his reclamation of the father and husband he was meant to be.

This revelation is most poignantly noted in the trailers for Saving Mr. Banks when the author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers, (Emma Thompson), is walking with Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) as Walt enthusiastically tries to convince Ms. Travers to allow him to film her book the "Disney" way:

Walt Disney: "'No whimsy or sentiment!' says the woman who sends a flying nanny with a talking umbrella to save the children."

P.L. Travers: "You think Mary Poppins is saving the children, Mr. Disney? Oh dear."

She walks away in dismay leaving behind a stunned Disney.

I was stunned as well – shocked and delighted as this was the first time I had ever heard this epiphany spoken out loud by anyone other than my husband, Bryan – that Mary Poppins had come to help – not Jane and Michael – but their father, Mr. Banks.

Honestly, I was literally jumping up and down in my seat with anticipation barely able to contain my own excitement to share this trailer with Bryan….

But OK now I’ve SERIOUSLY digressed.

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (sic: the o in "outside" should, grammatically, be capitalized but is not in the title, so I will not here) seems initially to be about the tragic story of a mother, Mildred (Frances McDormand – mainstay of the Coen Brothers movies and wife of Joel Coen) sick with grieving, burdened with the guilt of what she sees as her own "culpability" and frustrated to the point of desperation over the standstill in the investigation of her daughter’s brutal abduction, rape, torture and murder.

  To refocus attention on the 7 month old case she rents three billboards on a stretch of virtually unused road which state, "Burma Shave"-style respectively: "Raped while dying", "Still no arrests." "How come, Chief Willoughby?"

This one act stirs up a hornet’s nest in this otherwise profoundly sleepy and forgotten town, especially since the ire seems targeted to the well-loved and respected Sheriff, (Woody Harrelson), who is almost as frustrated by his inability to find any leads as Mildred.

The movie – written and directed by Martin McDonagh – appears to pivot around Mildred and the repercussions of these billboards to the town and its inhabitants as sides are taken, lines are drawn, fury is manifested, conclusions are jumped to, and blame is liberally distributed.

Mildred has rejected pretty much everyone in her life except her best friend Denise (Amanda Warren) with whom she runs a gift shop and her son, Robbie (Lucas Hedges) who, rightly, finds her a bitterly difficult to live with embarrassment. She is a very rough woman who treats her friend James (Peter "Game of Thrones" Dinklage),  with ingratitude and an egregious lack of appreciation, makes leaps of blame and decisions which gets bystanders injured, is an alcoholic and is a neglectful mother. She is irresponsible, verbally abusive and does little to further or comfort her remaining child. She blames people and institutions which have nothing to do with her daughter’s death.

The town is full of eccentric and human characters – from Mildred’s son Robbie who, while clean cut and disdainful of his mother's behavior, does not hesitate to wield a butcher knife in her defense even against his own father, to Mildred’s admirer and friend James, to the victim Angela (Kathryn Newton) who only appears briefly in one scene all Goth and teenaged rebellion, to Dixon's over doting mother (Sandy Martin) and her pet turtle,  to Willoughby the straight shooting decent family man sheriff, to Charlie (John Hawkes) Mildred’s volatile ex-husband and Penelope (Samara Weaving) Charlie’s bubbleheaded but somehow cluelessly adorable girlfriend, to Mildred who is the kind of tough that can even scare her physically abusive ex-husband.

And then there’s Dixon, (Sam "Galaxy Quest" Rockwell) Willoughby’s thoroughly inept, racist, ignorant, and oblivious deputy. You wonder why Willoughby, as conscientious and decent a man as he is, continues to keep such a provocatively dopey subordinate.

Without revealing too much, time and circumstance eventually reveal not only that much of Dixon’s flaws seem to be expressed as something expected of him but also what is the source of Willoughby’s confidence in such an unlikely and unpromising buffoon.

Everything that happens in the first three-quarters of the movie is only to provide context for the conversion of Deputy Dixon.

 And what is most compelling is the self-reflection, remorse, repentance, accepted mortification, embraced humiliation, confession, willingness to self-sacrifice and redemption of the fallen Dixon.

Proffered words of unconditional fatherly love to Dixon inspire an act of extreme self-sacrifice which lead to a confession which inspires a forgiving act of kindness received which in turn leads to yet another act of self-giving and eventually a forgiveness given. And at the end there is a tiny chink in Mildred’s armour through which the light of some possible forgiveness may shine, perhaps in turn inspired by Dixon's ultimately unconditional acceptance of her. In the end perhaps a little of what Dixon has learned may have rubbed off on Mildred.

And in addition the acting is terrific. Harrelson gives another great performance. McDormand is amazing and as chameleon like an actress as ever I’ve watched (Fargo, Hail Caeser, Raising Arizona). And Rockwell as Dixon steals every scene he's in and carries this enormous character arc with ingenuous conviction. When asked, in an interview, if he thought it was true that it took someone with great intelligence to play this "dumb", Rockwell amended (in what I thought was some classy humility) that, no – he thought it took the ability to tap into a remembered innocence and expand upon it. And that since he, himself, was fairly gullible he was able to connect with this character easily.

And although saying Three Billboards is a dark comedy is a bit like calling a jalapeno dusted with sugar a Tootsie Pop, there is humor. Just as there is great human tragedy in the story, there is also human comedy in the interactions of these complex and burdened people.

However, while there is much to recommend in Three Billboards, there is also much to warn against.

The language is horrifying. Imagine every profane word you have ever heard repeated a plethora of times and you will have about 20% of the script. There are none spared.

The topic is, obviously and inherently, difficult.

But the biggest complaint I have is what has become the de rigueur dig against faith. No one in town, despite a number of significant events, seeks comfort or solace in a church or in prayer. To deny that prayer might be a normal reaction is likened to pretending people do not eat because you, yourself, are burdened with the mental illness of anorexia. This omission is an obvious insult to people of faith and I get very tired of the aggressive and passive aggressive denials of this normal human response to disaster.

One scene in particular makes the screenwriter's contempt of faith especially jarring. There is one exchange Mildred has with a visiting priest (or perhaps Episcopal minister) wherein she refuses to listen to anything he has to say because other members of his "gang" have abused children. And even though she believes HIM personally innocent she holds him "culpable". She is vulgar, rude and threatening to him. But this is not what bothers me.

The grief and guilt she carries almost drive her mad on a daily basis. As Mildred is in a constant state of deep despair and barely restrained fury – like a dog which bites at even those hands attempting to help it – her behavior is at least understandable.

The reaction of the minister, however, I found objectionable. First, the minister does nothing to respond to Mildred – not in comfort, or forgiveness – but simply bows his head in what is intended to be a gratuitous acceptance of guilt. In addition, a good minister, seeing the extreme pain in which this woman was drowning, especially someone who is a former congregant and someone who he obviously knows and likely grew up with, would have returned to minister, even should he be continually turned away or spate upon. He would have tried. Instead, after Mildred’s rebuking he just slinks away, never to be seen again. Aside from pointing out Mildred’s rejection of all conventional assistance – family, friends, police, counselors, medical professionals, and religion – it seems a pointed and deliberate insult to a man of the cloth in general and the Catholic Church in particular.

While Three Billboards is a fascinating examination of how even terrible events can lead someone to be a better person, I can only wish for what the Coen Brothers, who have far more respect for God, religion and people of faith, might have done with this story.

However, given the movie is ultimately not even really about Mildred, but about Dixon, I can still offer this movie a qualified encouragement – but only to established adults with a thick skin and a certain worldly wisdom. Be advised, despite my opening digression, that this is NO one’s idea of Mary Poppins.

SHORT TAKE: Do NOT MISS the opportunity to see THE 39 STEPS at Lake Charles Little Theater – November 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 2017 – a hilarious send up of the famous Hitchcock spy thriller of the same name.

LONG TAKE: As I have oft told our kids – it’s not necessarily WHAT you say but how you say it that makes all the difference. This is brilliantly demonstrated in the current offering by Lake Charles Little Theater, THE 39 STEPS.

 Set in 1935 England, The 39 Steps, in its original incarnation as a spy thriller, is about Richard Hanney, an every man suffering from a severe case of ennui, who attends a theatrical performance of a man with a prodigious memory.  While there he is entreated by a mysterious foreign woman for help. The woman is murdered in his apartment, and Hanney becomes the prime suspect, thus kick starting the misadventures of Richard Hanney "accidental hero".

Beginning life as a novel by John Buchan along the lines of Ian Fleming’s Bond series, The 39 Steps was made into a movie several times, the most famous of which is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 entry. However, in 2005 Patrick Barlow got the bright idea of turning it into a comic play.

The Hitchcock movie, while employing Hitchcock’s trademark bit of tongue in cheek, is a drama. The author of the play,  Patrick Barlow, included the original material, most of the dialogue, and all of the plot convolutions but has presented them as would an ambitious Alfred Hitchcock fan might with a minimalist amount of props and an extremely limited pool of actors.

Four actors portray all of the many characters. This is just one of the aspects of the play that turns an intriguing drama into an irresistible comedy.

In the brilliantly funny rendition at Lake Charles Little Theater, Clay Hebert and his toupee play the lead Richard Hanney. Whether narrating to the audience, reluctantly falling in love with his female protagonist, or performing slapstick maneuvers required of his character, Clay’s Hanney is the anchor that keeps the production steady as insanity reigns around him. Clay provides just the right amount of tongue in cheek, committed to his "serious" role in one moment then feigning exasperation at having to deal with the limitations of the set and ensemble the next.

  Alexandra Landry shows her talents in triplicate to all three of the romantic female roles who cross Hanney’s path. She is great as Hanney’s side kicks – in turns the doomed German femme fatale, the reluctant English female romantic lead, and an unhappy Scottish housewife, lending accents and different body language to each.

The remaining dozens of other roles, including policemen, henchmen, evil doers, a milkman, fellow train travelers, a conductor, tavern owner, various passersby and  minor female roles – oft without even changing clothes entirely from their previous character – are all juggled by the two "Clowns," Joseph Comeaux and Greg Stratton, the latter who also wears the hat of the play’s director.     Stratton and Comeaux do a magnificent job of filling in all the many and varied roles, bouncing from one supporting character to another, sometimes required to change clothes on stage due the exigencies of the story.

 Comeaux and Stratton occasionally even have a different hat in each hand with which to do moment by moment changes right in front of us, deliberately stressing our suspension of disbelief in a humorous bald-faced dare to the audience to not be convinced. And every once in a while Hanney has to "correct" the two "Clowns" as their overburdened schedule leads to "miscues" and "mistakes". Of course these "mistakes" are all part of a complex and intricately timed and blocked play which is demanding for any cast, even one as experienced as the one here. But like a troupe of skillful magicians, they make it look easy. 　

There is no fourth wall. Hanney starts by addressing his audience and conveying his woes. Further, without giving anything away, I advise you to watch carefully as much goes on during and around the main action – small moments you won’t want to miss. Then there are the minimalist props, which are reused in a variety of ways  Steamer trunks serve as tables, beds, train seats and even in one especially memorable scene the ROOF of a train. Silhouettes and photos on a screen enhance the idea of large elaborate rooms and open air scenes…without actually HAVING large elaborate rooms … or use of the open countryside. How the cast deals with the prop aided pantomime is another comedic element of the play.

Although based on one of Hitchcock’s earlier movies, the comedy was written in 2005 and so features blatant references and affectionate homages to a half dozen other Hitchcock movies written after The 39 Steps.

And, of course, all this chaos is deliberately written into the play. I once read that it takes a lot of thought to appear glib. I’ve also noted it takes an erudite, thoughtful and intelligently gifted actor to appear a fool – note Jerry Lewis, Moe Howard and Charlie Chaplin were all highly dedicated and methodical men who planned out every lunatic action for maximum effect based upon years of experience and practice. Similarly it takes a tremendous amount of timing, organization and rehearsal to appear this daft and haphazard. But Stratton and company pull it off beautifully. And the result is a delightfully smart and funny play.

So call 337-433-7988 or log onto www.thelclt.com and order tickets for The 39 Steps. Appropriate for all ages. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to see it, maybe more than once at Lake Charles Little Theater, 813 Enterprise Blvd. November 10, 11, 17, and 18 at 7:30 pm November 12, and 19 for 2 pm matinees.

As a side note, I had puzzled over the title, The 39 Steps, for years. What relation does the word "steps" have to do with a spy organization? I finally got a tip from an article I read recently by Vanessa Thorpe of The Guardian. Apparently, while recuperating from an ulcer, Buchan would walk down from a garden to the beach using a walkway which had…you guessed it…39 steps. In the book, movies and the play the 39 Steps refers to a spy ring which seeks to steal away a "secret" vital to England’s national security (it really doesn’t matter what is, but is merely the "McGuffin"). Explained in the book, but not either the play or the famous movie, the 39 steps are the number of steps in a walkway which leads to the quay which holds the spy ring’s escape ship ….just so’s you know.