What's most disconcerting about THREE BILLBOARDS is the way the film uses race/police abuse as mere window-dressing without ever actually investing in any of it.
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One of the first things we learn about Sam Rockwell's deputy is that he tortured a black man (that word, "tortured" gets tossed around a LOT, almost as much as "midget". McDonagh sure does love "midget").
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Rockwell's victim is never given a name or a face, and the circumstances around the torture are never discussed. Yet Harrelson still insists that Rockwell is 'a good man', and the film more or less aligns with that POV.
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(Granted, it reveals that 'goodness' through the old Catholic standby of beating the living shit out of Rockwell until he trips into grace, but still.)
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It should also be noted that the biggest blowback to McDormand's character's antics is her black friend/co-worker getting locked up on a trumped up charge with no bail. She is not seen or referenced again until one scene, way later.
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The easy, probably correct justification for this is that the film is not ABOUT race in America and prejudice in policework. That's just the fucked up landscape against which McDonagh's sinners stumble and bleed towards a (theoretical) grace and catharsis.
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But I don't think you get away with that in 2017, man. And it leaves THREE BILLBOARDS feeling more like a collection of great scenes in search of a center besides "grief is fucked up".
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