Review: 'By Any Means' Blends Civil Rights History with Mob Violence
Elegance Bratton's film 'By Any Means' portrays the 1966 assassination of civil-rights leader Vernon Dahmer Sr. by the Ku Klux Klan in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The narrative centers on the FBI's probe, showcasing mobster Gregory Scarpa Sr. (Mark Wahlberg) alongside Black agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Initially reluctant about Scarpa's tactics, Strider eventually adopts them, echoing Malcolm X's 'by any means necessary.' The cast features Giancarlo Esposito as Dahmer, David Strathairn as FBI agent Roy K. Moore, Nicole Beharie as Allison, and LaChanze as Ellie Dahmer. A review in The New Yorker commends the film's impactful scenes but notes a deficiency in character development and the examination of Black community politics.
Key facts
- Film 'By Any Means' directed by Elegance Bratton, based on true events.
- Set in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1966.
- Centers on the killing of Black businessman and civil-rights activist Vernon Dahmer Sr. by the Ku Klux Klan.
- FBI enlists mobster Gregory Scarpa Sr. (Mark Wahlberg) to investigate.
- Scarpa is paired with Black FBI agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a composite character.
- Scarpa previously helped FBI locate bodies of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Mickey Schwerner in 1964.
- Film references Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Why We Can't Wait' and Malcolm X's 'by any means necessary'.
- Review published in The New Yorker, criticizing 'convenient incompetence' and lack of interiority.
- Bratton's previous film 'The Inspection' (2022) based on his own experience.
- Screenplay by Sascha Penn.
- Features Giancarlo Esposito as Vernon Dahmer, David Strathairn as Roy K. Moore, Nicole Beharie as Allison, LaChanze as Ellie Dahmer.
Entities
Artists
- Elegance Bratton
- Mark Wahlberg
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
- Giancarlo Esposito
- David Strathairn
- Nicole Beharie
- LaChanze
- Sascha Penn
- Vernon Dahmer Sr.
- Gregory Scarpa Sr.
- Wayne Strider
- Roy K. Moore
- James Chaney
- Andrew Goodman
- Mickey Schwerner
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Malcolm X
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- James Wormley Jones
- Jackie Robinson
Institutions
- FBI
- Ku Klux Klan
- The New Yorker
Locations
- Hattiesburg
- Mississippi
- Jackson
- Mobile
- Alabama
- Brooklyn
- Chicago
- United States