Director: Elegance Britton
Writer: Sascha Penn
Stars: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Beharie
Synopsis: A notorious mafia hitman and a young Black FBI agent team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.
By no means should By Any Means be held in the same regard as such landmark civil rights thrillers as Mississippi Burning, In the Heat of the Night, BlacKkKlansman, or Judas and the Black Messiah. The film never digs nearly as deeply into the roots of hatred or the systems that allow it to flourish, trading thematic complexity for a conventional buddy-cop revenge thriller.
Yet, what an incredible story By Any Means is, even though I think it would have been better served as a limited streaming series, allowing its bigger themes more time to percolate and settle. The movie plays more like a tall tale, with stories that grow more embellished with each generous mug of sudsy beer, as legendary folklore often does.
The result is a series of familiar beats, delivered with such conviction that they reverberate with genuine tension.
The story follows Wayne Strider (Ambulance’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a Black FBI special agent in the 1960s. Strider worked for the Bureau’s Chicago office but returned to the Mississippi field office to make a difference. Wayne grew up there and feels responsible for the community. Unfortunately, he finds himself stuck on desk duty.
He accompanies his wife, Allison (Miss Juneteenth’s Nicole Beharie), to a community gathering where a wealthy local Black business owner, Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad fame), is offering to pay the “poll tax,” a two-dollar fee required to vote that many poor Black residents could not afford. This makes Vernon a target and makes the case personal for Wayne.
Initially, Wayne’s boss (David Strathairn) refuses to let him investigate, knowing the law will prevent any meaningful investigation. However, that changes when the Bureau arranges a secret plan to bring in notorious Mafia hitman Greg Scarpa (Oscar-nominee Mark Wahlberg), telling Wayne that he is simply to accompany Scarpa, not ask questions.
Based on real events, By Any Means immerses itself in the ethical ambiguity of being a conscientious observer with a badge. Director Elegance Bratton (The Inspection) and writer Sascha Penn (1992) draw its central tension from the true story of a Colombo crime family who viewed himself as a James Bond, helping locate the bodies and killers of civil rights activists.
At times, the film is remarkably effective, deftly handling genre picture duties with a handful of tragically powerful moments, including another remarkable cameo by Lisa Gay Hamilton, a character actress of extraordinary grace, whom you may recognize from Beautiful Boy, Vice, and Jackie Brown. These scenes give the audience permission to root for vengeance later.
Of course, at some point, every man needs a code and picks which side of the law he needs to be on, giving the audience a glimpse of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s character willing to step into a world he never thought possible. Strider is reportedly loosely based on agent Lindley DeVecchio, Scarpa’s handler during the period the film covers.
For all the bluster, By Any Means is, at its core, a morally complicated genre thriller that’s well-acted, well-crafted, and well-paced. The shame is that much of its potential thematic depth is set aside for familiar genre conventions, though Esposito and Hamilton’s scenes help elevate the picture. A familiar road, but this story and performances make the movie worth your time.
By no means does By Any Means reinvent the civil rights thriller, but it tells one hell of a story with conviction.
You can watch By Any Means exclusively in theaters starting September 4th!
