Bring cash the tavern doesn’t take credit or debit cards. Visitors can grab a Duck Rabbit Beer (made in Farmville) at The Town Pump Tavern, the bar where Dixon and other Ebbing locals hang out after a long day. Its friendly character and graceful setting attract botanists, hikers, travelers, and others seeking to connect with nature and the outdoors. Once known as the “Front Porch of North Carolina” and now branded as the “Little Town that Rocks,” Black Mountain offers spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains with nationally recognized arts, handmade crafts and local food markets. Though the billboards created by the production team are no longer there, the scenic road is worth the drive. McDonagh chose North Fork Left Fork Road, which circles Black Mountain. While Sylva provided the perfect stand-in for Ebbing, it didn’t have an isolated road with a house that could double as Mildred’s. A priority stop includes Dillsboro Chocolate Factory for some sweets.īook at room at the Dillsboro Inn, an eco-tourist sanctuary that offers direct river access for guests. Travelers should respect that it’s a private residence.Ī five-minute drive from downtown Sylva, country inns and mountain views invite a walk along the Tuckasegee River before exploring the century-old storefronts with rustic gift shops and galleries. Other stops that define Sylva’s quirky charm include the Tuckaseegee Fly Shop, a retail fly shop and guide service.īefore leaving for Dillsboro, drive down Cowan Street to see the building that was Dixon’s house. The office space is private, but you can see the notorious window from the sidewalk. Red Welby’s office was on the second floor of the Jackson’s General Store building. West Main leads to another not-to-miss site. Popular with cast and crew, it serves coffee, light bites, beer and wine, which customers can enjoy on the outdoor patio. City Lights Café, a local hangout, sits a block south. Several key scenes take place in a space that now displays furnishings and home goods. Take the path from the 1914 Courthouse to West Main Street and continue to Sassy Frass, a home décor store that was transformed into the Ebbing Police Department. It’s worth climbing the 107 steps to view the surrounding mountains and the restaurants, boutiques, galleries and bookshops, which are interspersed with sites from the film: the Ebbing Police Department, Red Welby’s advertising company and Officer Dixon’s house. Day 1: Sylva and Dillsboroįollow the cue from McDonagh’s opening scene and take in Sylva from the Jackson County Historic Courthouse, now the public library. A journey into writer-director Martin McDonagh’s creation of fictional Ebbing covers other cinematic North Carolina towns including Dillsboro, Black Mountain and Maggie Valley. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it.In Sylva, you can can walk in the shoes of Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) as she battles with her community to dig deeper into her daughter’s violent death. 'Three Billboards' is, from start to finish, a great movie. It is hard to mention something negative about this film. There is a racist cop, a friendly midget, a smart advertising guy and a pretty girl who is so dumb she doesn't know the difference between polo and polio.
#Where was three billboards filmed full#
And then there is the overall, almost Coen-esque atmosphere of a small town full of colourful characters. None of the characters are one-dimensional: they all reveal surprising parts of their personalities as the story moves forward. The story is full of unexpected twists, gradually shifting the positions of the main characters towards each other. Apart from McDormand's performance, the screenplay is another great feature of this film. The monologue she delivers when a priest visits her house to tell her she has gone too far, is priceless. Above all because of Mildred Hayes' stubborn character and her ability to verbally humiliate people by her extremely sharp tongue. Although the film is about grief, anger, revenge and violence, it is extremely funny. By doing so, she attracts the attention of the media, angers almost the entire town and causes a succession of increasingly violent actions. Frustrated by the lack of progress of the investigation, Hayes decides to rent three dilapidated billboards, publicly accusing the local police chief of incompetence. She had a daughter too, but the girl was raped and killed on a quiet mountain road not far from home. Hayes is a divorced single mother, living with her son on the outskirts of a small, remote town. The part of Mildred Hayes was written with McDormand in mind. This might well be her best performance ever. Mildred Hayes, the heroine from 'Three Billboards', is a serious contender. It seemed that the pregnant police detective Marge Gunderson from 'Fargo' would forever be the most memorable character of Frances McDormand's acting career.