This action-packed account of a long-suspected but never corroborated story of murder, revenge and racial justice into satisfying eye-for-an-eye punishment, is sure to be controversial, but, for me, it was wholly satisfying. Legend or fact, it readies the Machiavellian stage for justice when all other avenues appear to be out of reach.
Setting the scene in a Mississippi warehouse in 1964, two men are alone. One, tied to a chair, face already a bloody pulp, is being brutally led to the confession that will result in the discovery of the bodies of three civil rights Freedom Riders who had disappeared weeks before. Without this man’s confession, they would have remained buried, 14 feet below an earthen dam on the property of a known Klansman. The FBI claimed the breakthrough came from an informant tempted by the reward offered; the family of Greg Scarpa, Mafia enforcer for the Columbo family, would beg to differ. Scarpa extracted that first confession, and it would not be his last.
It is 1966 and Wayne Strider, a star of the FBI office in Chicago, has been transferred, at his request, to the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, office. The welcome he and his wife receive from the Black side of town is warm; not so from the “Whites Only” side. His reception at the office isn’t much better than the one he received from the local Whites. Despite his wish to assist in ongoing investigations, his supervisor, Special Agent Moore, relegates him to the file room, already housing the one other Black agent. It’s not how he envisioned his career going, or, more particularly, stopping.
Soon after arriving, the Striders are present at the picnic sponsored by Vernon Dahmer, head of the local NAACP, who speaks about the importance of voting, promising to pay the poll tax for those who didn’t have the means. Dahmer’s pledge was immediately reported to the local Klan, denizens of the city, many of whom were members of “law enforcement.” Resented for his wealth and influence, a target was on his back and action against him was soon taken. A few nights later, the racist vigilantes opened fire on his family and firebombed his house. Dahmer was able to get his family to safety but not himself, burning to death while the Klan’s bullets prevented his escape.
The FBI was powerless, some might say useless. Both the Black and White communities were suspicious and resentful of them and no one was going to talk. This murder, however, generated national outrage. President Johnson, whose Voting Rights Bill had recently passed, felt that this murder made a mockery of his hard-won legislation and demanded that J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, take immediate action. Ironic since Hoover had spent almost the entire Civil Rights Era passively allowing the excesses of White supremacists to go unpunished. His disdain for Blacks was widely known. Nevertheless, this was the president calling and Hoover immediately put pressure on Moore. Because of the lack of leads and the need for speed, they dipped into their secret arsenal and called back clandestine “liaison” Scarpa. They would team him with Strider, instructing the straight arrow agent that he was to follow Scarpa’s lead and do whatever he said. His job was to assist and look the other way.
Scarpa must depend on Strider to get leads in the Black community from people who would never speak to White “law enforcement.” Their reluctance was well-earned from years of betrayal and violence at the hands of those who were supposed to protect them. Strider’s breakthrough comes from a conversation with Ms. Rebecca (a luminously warm Lisa Gay Hamilton), Dahmer’s neighbor, who was able to describe one of the trucks present at the firebombing. That slim piece of evidence was enough for Scarpa to begin identifying suspects and finding weak links. It is Strider, however, who is his biggest roadblock. Still an idealist, he cannot sanction the off-the-books beatings of this killer associated with the Colombo family. Refusing to work with the killer, his bosses suspend him.
Circumstances change for him, however, and his need for justice both for Dahmer and himself, leads him to the dark side. The character development of Strider, now back against the wall, shows his transformation from man of impeccable moral standing to an active collaborator with his amoral partner. Their differences are, however, still crystal clear. Striver wants justice for Dahmer by any means necessary; Scarpa is doing the job he was hired for.
With the exceptions of Scarpa, Dahmer and many of the Klansmen who orchestrated his murder, the other characters are composites of men who may have worked this case, especially the character of Wayne Strider. Again, truth or legend is actually not the point, the story has the rhythm of an action movie and plays out like a Quentin Tarantino film reimagining the outcomes of history like “Inglourious Basterds” where Jews hunt down and kill Nazis or “Django Unchained,” where a Black vigilante sets out to vanquish vicious plantation owners. Even if the events in “By Any Means” never took place, and the FBI has made curiously ambivalent denials, the family of Greg Scarpa insists that he was instrumental in aiding in these and possibly other cases. As noted in a chyron at the end of the film, Scarpa was credited with over 60 hits for the Colombos, an interestingly high number that leads one to believe that his criminal activities were, if not aided by, at least ignored by the FBI, one of whose mandates was to bring down Organized Crime.
The cast was amazing. Giancarlo Esposito makes the small, but pivotal role of Vernon Dahmer into an unforgettable presence. The two leads are incomparable. Don Wahlberg, overladen with prosthetics and even more ripped than usual, obviously relished playing an over-the-top character who was, by all accounts, over the top. His use of violence, and make no mistake, the beating scenes are hard to watch, highlights the delight he takes in administering pain.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is a true star. His transformation from naive idealist believing in “truth, justice and the American way,” to cynical vessel of retribution is fast and yet totally believable.
Director Elegance Bratten and writer Sascha Penn have successfully channeled the anger and injustice of this period in history. Lest you think the portrayal of white on Black violence is exaggerated, look at old network footage of sheriffs viciously beating peaceful civil rights demonstrators while protecting rabid Ku Klux Klan members. Bratten and Penn did not diminish the importance of this struggle by turning “By Any Means” into an action film; they engulfed you in the battle.
Now playing at the AMC Century City 15, among many others.
Neely Swanson spent most of her professional career in the television industry, almost all of it working for David E. Kelley. In her last full-time position as Executive Vice President of Development, she reviewed writer submissions and targeted content for adaptation. As she has often said, she did book reports for a living. For several years she was a freelance writer for “Written By,” the magazine of the WGA West, and was adjunct faculty at USC in the writing division of the School of Cinematic Arts. Neely has been writing film and television reviews for the “Easy Reader” for more than 10 years. Her past reviews can be read on Rotten Tomatoes where she is a tomatometer-approved critic.
