I’m somewhat convinced the creative team watched 2018’s “Green Book” and thought, ‘yeah, but what if we made this into a pseudo-buddy police procedural?’
“By Any Means” is set in 1966 in Mississippi, a few years after the murders of activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. As the movie gets underway, another murder of a Civil Rights activist takes place, and the FBI once again has a case on their hands.
Special agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who knew the victim, is tasked with investigating the killing. To complete the case, the FBI decides to go outside the law, bringing in mafia enforcer Gregory Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg) to assist Strider in the effort. Together, reluctantly, they have to go through rural Mississippi and uncover who was behind the murder.
If you took “Green Book,” “Mississippi Burning” and maybe any vigilante movie where the protagonist(s) take the law into their own hands, you might get something like “By Any Means.” Like others mentioned, it’s a movie that attempts to explore the embedded racism and corruption in the south during the Civil Rights era.
Additioanlly, it digs into the FBI’s mixed handling of Civil Rights movement related crimes, all while having the approach of an odd couple police action flick. The results aren’t exactly great. When it comes to the film’s attempt to be a period piece crime drama about the horrors of racism and the FBI’s underground, “By Any Means” falls short.
It’s not a particularly intriguing or even new examination of the subject matter. Instead, it’s all rather surface level and treated more as a simple setup to let the action and suspense unfold. Additionally, it doesn’t help that Scarpa’s mob tendencies and casual offensive remarks are portrayed more as a necessary evil and even somewhat comical, rather than how dark they should be shown.
With all that said, as a just a straightforward flick about law enforcement not playing by the rules and going after bad guys, “By Any Means” is OK. Abdul-Mateen II, who’s put in solid work in the likes of “Us,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Candyman” and “The Matrix Resurrections,” is really solid as a man who demands justice beyond what the existing system can provide, but is also committed to the overall rule of law.
It creates a good dynamic for his character as he has to work with a member of the mob who gets plenty violent at times and steps outside the law. Ultimately, his journey through the film, where he and his counterpart have to confront dastardly individuals, hooks a person in and keeps them engaged through the runtime. That time is a clean hour and 47 minutes, too, which isn’t bad for the genre.
As for Wahlberg, he feels miss-cast here. He’s usually good in either good guy characters or slightly anti-heroic roles, but him being a straight up mob hit man and truly awful person who’s brought in to clean up worse people is a bridge too far. He just doesn’t sell it too well. That’s especially true when you read about the very real mafia hitman he portrays.
At the same time, it’s hard to complain when his character is beating the hell out of Klan members. The firefights the protagonists get into and them putting the hurt on antagonists to get information has some entertainment value. Plus, the filmmakers shoot them on their investigation in a way that gives the duo some swagger as they take on the schemers.
“By Any Means” isn’t anything special when it comes to being a historic period piece about racist murders during the 1960s. But as a procedural with some attitude, it’s OK. Fine for a matinee or simple stream at home with a nice lead performance and some thrills. 3 out of 5.
Photo courtesy Paramount Pictures
