https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OReFR-2rmQc
(major spoilers)
(if you're reading this without watching the film watch it first it's worth it)
James, played by Peter Dinklage, is looked down upon in the small suburban discrimination filled town throughout the entirety of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. After Frances Mcdormand, a single mother estranged from her only child after her second kid was murdered, sets fire to a police station for their lack of answers on the who the murderer is, she discovers one policeman is still inside of the station, she had assumed it was empty due to it being late. The officer comes screaming out of the station while on fire and Peter Dinklage comes to his heroic rescue putting out the fire and contributing more so than Frances Mcdormand who has gone in to a state of shock. This subversion of stereotypes of what the discriminatory idea of what dwarfism is to a lot of people could be perceived as discriminatory due to its entire leverage being based on the perpetuation of that original stereotype. In other words, subversion of a discriminatory expectation is still grounded in a discriminatory expectation. However, I would argue that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri handles this far better than a lot of other films. There's no dramatic music, no low angle shots of Dinklage and definitely no triumphant moments for the character. The emotional weight of the scene is not based on Dinklage's rescue, but about the officer and Frances Mcdormand and the relationship between them, if you were to notice Dinklage saving him and be surprised the film prompts more ideas of how you should maybe introspect on your own deep-rooted discriminatory views as supposed to shoving a message down your throat while beating you in the head with a social justice hammer and stealing money from your pockets under the pretense of a "positive message".
I would also argue that the cinematography focuses far more on the emotional relationship between Frances and Dinklage, which is a way more tasteful way of presenting disabilities. The way Martin McDonagh uses camera angles and blurs to present this scene to boost emotion and messaging is very detailed. You may notice the camera following the file the policeman was holding as it slides across the ground, followed by a shot of Frances Mcdormands reaction, while Peter Dinklage was actually blurred out and presented as more of a human than a plot point. Presenting him as a character who out of instinct would try to help any human without it being a decision to be made makes him a lot more human and not a paper slate to push an agenda.
Not to say there's no focus on Peter Dinklage's disability in the film, there's a scene where he vents about feeling judged by the town, which isn't too out of usual for the film which deals with a lot of discrimination based on class, gender and disabilities. However, this scene is not based in the subversion of a negative stereotype and so I would argue that it handles that tastefully also.
Overall, I would argue that the presentation of disability while not a main plot point in the film is handled tastefully and well, encouraging the audience to introspect and also connect with a character they may have preconceived negative connotations towards.
