REVIEW: "By Any Means"
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
There’s a really good movie hidden somewhere inside By Any Means, which makes the version that reached theaters even more disappointing. The story of a Black FBI agent being forced to team up with a cold-blooded Mafia hitman to investigate racist murders in 1960s Mississippi has a lot of dramatic potential and plenty of pulpy appeal. But the problem is that Elegance Bratton’s movie spends so much time trying to find its footing that its lost potential stands out the most.
The movie takes place during the tense summer of 1966 and follows FBI agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who believes in the law but faces a system unwilling to enforce it fairly. After civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito) is murdered, the Bureau decides that their usual tactics aren’t working, and they bring in mob enforcer Greg Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg) to get results. Stride becomes Scarpa’s reluctant partner and has to watch a dangerous criminal get answers using methods that violate everything he stands for. This sets up a tense, character-driven story about two men from completely different worlds clashing over what true justice looks like.
The real issue, though, is that By Any Means doesn’t seem sure what kind of movie it wants to be. It could have been a harrowing docudrama about another awful chapter in the civil rights movement, or a buddy-cop comedy with a mismatched pair trading wisecracks while taking down the bad guys. Either approach could have worked. But mixing heavy real-life drama with slick entertainment is tricky, and the film never finds a steady balance. Whenever a scene gets really unpleasant or tense, the movie quickly throws in a quip or a light moment. There’s nothing wrong with using humor to give the audience a moment to relax or catch their breath, but here it arrives so fast and unexpectedly that it undercuts the tragedy’s weight and the suffering at its core. This leaves the movie feeling uneven in both tone and emotion.
Wahlberg seems to be having the time of his life playing such a total wild card. Scarpa’s raw aggression and complete lack of a moral filter give him plenty of room to chew the scenery, and his energetic swagger and blunt delivery give the movie a much-needed jolt. Unfortunately, he’s working behind an incredibly distracting, very obvious prosthetic nose. It becomes hard to see the actor under the makeup, especially since the performance is already so over-the-top. Wahlberg brings Scarpa to life, but the swagger and outbursts, while fun, hide the character’s lack of depth.
Abdul-Mateen II, on the other hand, gives the movie’s strongest performance. His restraint speaks volumes about the toll of playing by the rules in a country that seems unconcerned with his safety. He also makes the imbalance between the two men clear: Scarpa can walk away after the job, while Strider has to live with the consequences. That’s a lot to explore, but the script gives Strider little room to work through it. The narrative just pushes his changing views along, without enough quiet moments to make those changes feel authentic or convincing.
By the end, there’s little playoff for the uneasy partnership or the questions the movie raises. The film spends nearly two hours asking whether justice requires crossing moral lines, yet it offers very little insight into what those choices cost. Even the investigation lacks the satisfying build-up a more straightforward thriller might have. Most disappointing of all, a postscript reveals how much of the hard-fought justice depicted in the movie was later undone, weakening its minimal payoff without giving the loss much meaning. It has capable actors, tense stretches, and a worthwhile story, but the pieces never form a satisfying whole. For a movie called By Any Means, it’s surprisingly short on reasons to care once the credits roll.
By Any Means is currently available to rent on VOD.