弗兰西斯·麦克多蒙德新电影《三个广告牌》

Frances McDormand Means Business in New 'Three Billboards²' Film

In the new movie, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing³, Missouri, and everywhere else, Frances McDormand means business.

McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, a woman filled with anger over the unsolved rape⁴ and murder of her daughter. She begins a noisy, public campaign to hold the town's sheriff responsible for not finding the killer⁵.

Mildred puts up billboards near the sleepy Missouri town where they live. The signs’ messages insult the sheriff and demand action.

In some ways, it is hard to separate the character of Mildred from the equally uncompromising McDormand. In the film, Mildred is a strong and determined⁶ force because McDormand is one, too.

Mildred seems like the heroine we need in real life, at this moment especially. The darkly humorous and violent spirit of outrage⁷ in Three Billboards has touched a nerve with moviegoers, perhaps more than any other film this fall.

The movie opened in New York and Los Angeles last weekend. It also showed at the 2017 Venice film festival where it won the award for movie writing. Three Billboards also won the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.

The movie’s director, Martin McDonagh, talked about the timing⁸ of the movie. “It’s great to be putting out a film with such a strong woman lead character,” he said.

“Even just two months ago before anyone had seen it, I wasn't sure how it was going to be taken. We thought it was a good film with great performances but we worried that the darkness in the story might not allow people to laugh,” he said.

The Irish playwright⁹ and filmmaker wrote the part for McDormand after meeting her at a party several years ago. He praised McDormand for her film work and as a person. He said she is “not toeing the Hollywood line, and not doing what's expected of her.”

Her Three Billboards co-star, Sam Rockwell, agrees.

“She has to do it a certain way. It's part of who she is and it's part of who Mildred is. There's something burning in her, just like those billboards. There's something burning in Frances,” he said.

The performance places McDormand in an early lead for an Academy Award next year. She won a best actress Oscar for her 1997 performance in Fargo. She has been nominated for three other Academy Awards, as well.

Anita Katz of the San Francisco Examiner called McDormand’s Mildred “a raging force of purpose with a caring heart.”

McDormand says what moves her these days is a strong, new interest in work, now that her son has reached adulthood¹⁰. McDormand, who is 60 years old, says the chance to play a protagonist¹¹ was a gift at her age. In her words, “I was ready for it.”

She says she seeks women characters who, in her words, “stand on their own in the dramatic arc of the storytelling.”

The movie also has an excellent performance by Rockwell. In his character’s story and others’, Mildred's campaign unsettles the established order.

“It's timely,” Rockwell says of the film. “It's speaking to a lot of things that are going on in this country. It's talking about racism¹² and misogyny. Ultimately I think it's about love and redemption, but I think it has a lot of anger in it -- a healthy amount of anger.”

McDormand herself does not exactly share Mildred's rage. But she does connect with the film's demand for truthful¹³ discussion of issues and change.

“Like everything in our culture, the more women that wield¹⁴ power, the more stories will be told,” says McDormand. She says America lags “behind the international landscape of women being in power.”

So, she says, “it's time for us to catch up.”

I’m Ashley Thompson. And I'm Caty Weaver¹⁵.

Words in This Story

mean business - expression. to be very serious; to be earnest

sheriff - n. an elected official who is in charge of enforcing the law in a county or town of the U.S.?

billboard¹ - n. ?a large sign, usually for advertisements, that is next to a road, on the side of a building, etc.?

outrage - n. ?extreme anger : a strong feeling of unhappiness because of something bad, hurtful, or morally wrong?

toe the line - expression.? to follow rules; to do what is expected

raging - adj. very wild and violent?

misogyny - n. ?a hatred¹⁶ of women

wield - v.? to have and use (power, influence, etc.)?

lag - v. to move more slowly than others : to fail to walk or move as quickly as others?

landscape - n. ?a particular area of activity

1 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

2 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

3 ebbing   

（指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• The pain was ebbing. 疼痛逐渐减轻了。
• There are indications that his esoteric popularity may be ebbing. 有迹象表明，他神秘的声望可能正在下降。

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

10 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

11 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

12 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

13 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

14 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

15 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

16 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。