By Any Means – Movie Review
Between director Elegance Bratton (The Inspection) and writer Sascha Penn (1992) (the filmmaking team behind the new historical crime drama By Any Means), the exploration into the black American experience over the course of the last 60-plus years through the film, documentary, and television that injects an authentic sincerity about race relations into engaging, stylistic art. And this latest film, featuring lead performances from Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, is no exception.
Taking place is 1966 Mississippi, By Any Means follows the unlikely partnership between an up-and-coming FBI agent looking for an opportunity to prove himself, Wayne Strider (Abdul-Mateen II), and mafia hitman turned informant Gregory Scarpa (Wahlberg), who together must conduct an off-the-book investigation into the brutal and racially charged murder of voting and civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito). Strider’s personal connection to Dahmer, and his fight for allowing black Americans to vote, plus his desire to follow the formal structures of an FBI investigation clash with Scarpa’s brutish and often violent methods to extract information, leading Strider to have his personal and professional morals to be under constant challenge.
While Penn’s script follows a reasonably familiar formula to tell the story of Dahmer’s murder, and the ripple effects of this tragic event that continued throughout America during the 60s and 70s (and still to this day), it’s executed in a stylish and engaging way. A news montage begins the film that provides all of the context needed for this more focused narrative to begin, followed by a violently effective scene showcasing Scarpa’s “techniques” to get the information he wants out of suspects, setting up the movie in decent stead. After that opening, the more tried-and-tested structure is followed as Strider is introduced, the crime is committed, and the investigation begins. Even though this type of narrative has been done many times before, it is done well here.
There are some characters and story elements that are left a little too underdeveloped, specifically Ethan Embry’s turn as the instigator behind the murder, and David Strathairn and Josh Lucas’s roles back at the FBI. Whereas the supporting performance of Nicole Beharie as Strider’s wife solidifies the emotional backbone of the story.
What shines through the formula is the obvious passion that Penn and Bratton have for this subject matter, and the pure sincerity that comes through the screen during the exploration. This is a no-holds-barred, very visceral approach to portraying racism in 1960s America, and it’s that exact confronting style that makes the emotional drive of Strider’s character feel even more palpable, distinguishing him from being just another cop investigating a murder. Abdul-Mateen II’s performance also does a lot of heavy lifting here as his masculine nuance fuels his character’s arc throughout the film.
Whereas Mark Wahlberg’s turn as Scarpa is where the more stylistic elements come into play, for both better and worse. Wahlberg’s “transformation” into Scarpa comes in the form of a giant prosthetic nose… and that is practically it. It’s a noticeably distracting choice mainly because Wahlberg barely changes anything else about himself, physically or vocally (aside from a slightly more nasal Brooklyn accent), to inhabit Scarpa. However, on the other side of that coin, Wahlberg’s natural masculinity and charisma is lively and at times quite funny. But when the push comes to shove (sometimes literally), his brooding physicality makes for a truly menacing presence on screen.
Bratton’s stylish and dynamic direction helps inject even more style into the sincerity. The way he smoothly moves the camera around dialogue scenes or action set-pieces alike is very visually enticing. Bratton even delves into far more contemporary styles of shooting, including a first-person view of a shootout and harsh lighting, that separates By Any Means from the other types of films like this that would have come up 20 or more years ago. There are times where the directing feels more of the focus than the substance of the story, but for the most part it works more in favour of injecting energy and entertainment into a very heavy story.
By Any Means may follow a tried-and-tested formula narratively to bring its story to life, but smooth, stylistic direction and some commanding chemistry between the lead actors injects a lot of liveliness into the film, making it an effective and entertaining crime thriller.
By Any Means is in Australian cinemas September 3
