“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” a darkly comedic drama featuring Frances McDormand as a mother who squares off against local law enforcement after the death of her daughter, opens Dec. 1 at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Also continuing to show is “Novitiate.”

Upset by the lack of progress in a months-long investigation into her daughter’s murder, Mildred Hayes (played by McDormand) makes a bold move, commissioning three signs that offer a controversial message directed at her hometown’s revered chief of police.

When the police department’s second-in-command officer (Sam Rockwell), who has a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Hayes and Ebbing law enforcement is only exacerbated.

The film, which is directed by Martin McDonagh, also features Woody Harrelson in the role of police chief.

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” which is rated R for violence, language and sexual references, will show at the Ross through Dec. 21.

Trailer: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Led by a gripping performance from Melissa Leo, “Novitiate” grapples with questions of faith and feminism.

Spanning over a decade from the early 1950s through to the mid-60s, this film is about a young girl’s first initiation with love, in this case with God.

Raised by a non-religious, single mother in rural Tennessee, Cathleen is drawn into the mystery and romanticism of a life devoted to the worship and servitude of God after she attends Catholic school on scholarship.

With the dawn of the Vatican II era, radical changes in the Church are threatening the course of nuns’ lives. As Cathleen progresses from the postulant to the novitiate stage of training, she finds her faith repeatedly confronted and challenged by the harsh, often inhumane realities of being a servant of God. Cathleen finds herself struggling with issues of faith, sexuality and recent changes in life of the Church.

“Novitiate,” which is rated R for language, sexuality and nudity, will continue to show at the Ross through Dec. 7.

Trailer: "Novitiate"

For more information, such as show times, click here or call 402-472-5353.