Take 85: By Any Means
“I ain’t shinin’ shoes, I’m crackin’ f*ckin’ heads!”
Mississippi, 1966. Tensions are high. Just a couple of years prior, three civil rights activists had gone missing for having the audacity to register people to vote. Black people. Civil Right leader Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito) is encouraging Black people to take to the polls and even vows to cover the poll tax for anyone who can’t afford it to get them out to vote. This does not sit well with “certain individuals”. Once again, tragedy strikes. FBI agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who has just moved back to the area has been tasked with investigating the wave of brutality and had just prior to the latest event had seen Dahmer speak and had met with him. This most recent assault hits especially close to home. Strider is reminded on numerous occasions that his FBI credentials don’t mean squat in the Good Ol’ Boys’ South. It is going to be an uphill battle if he hopes to get to the bottom of things. Fortunately, he does not have to go it completely alone. Enter Greg Scrarpa (Mark Wahlberg), a mafia hitman who has been working with the FBI who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty and doing what needs to be done. This is in stark contrast to Strider who has, as an African American agent, been taught that he must do everything by the book. It’s oil and water- but in order to get results, they must put aside their differences and insure that justice is served, By Any Means.
When I first saw the trailer, the fact that By Any Means is based on true events completely escaped me somehow. I thought it was just going to be a fun story about two vigilante times kicking butt and taking names. As I entered the theater and saw “based on a true story” on the poster, everything shifted, instantly. Once I released when and what this story would be about, I knew there would be little fun to be had at all. Sure, It could still be entertaining (and it was) but certainly of a different sort. This one comes with built-in baggage. A lot of sadness and discomfort. A little too close to home, then and now unfortunately.
As it is based on a true story (however strict or loose it may be,) it can only do so much in terms of innovation. The plot is pretty straight forward and dare I say, predictable even. Where it CAN be creative is in the way the characters are built and how their relationship play out. Yahya Abdul-Mateen is well-cast here. I recognized him instantly, but at the same time, I couldn’t say from what specifically. This is a type that seems natural to him. As one of the first (and he makes it exceeding clear, he is not THE first), he has a lot of weight on his shoulders. Scrarpa refers to him as “Jackie Robinson” because to him, he must be the first Black man in the FBI because the idea certainly isn’t a common one. He has to be exemplary in his role as an FBI agent. For all tense and purposes, he has to be the straight man. He understands that he has to follow the letter of the law. So often, I wanted to see him blur the lines, act on his anger and frustration, but for the most part, he doesn’t. You get why he can’t, but dangit… He plays this really well.
The other central character is Greg Scrarpa. Aspirational he is not. He’s gross. He’s cheats on his wife. He’s loud. And his is defintely not “by the book”. He is a great foil to Strider, and say what you will about Mark Wahlberg the person, much like the character, Mark Wahlberg the actor, killed it. He WAS this guy. When they showed the real life analog during the end credits, it was uncanny. He was the gratification I wanted. Where Strider insisted on following the law no matter what, the ultimate “good cop”, Greg was about getting results. And getting those results was usually BRUTAL. There were parts of this movie that might be a little hard to watch due to their intensity. In just about every instance, it is his character pulling it off. Again, not a likable character, but is the personification of the title.
Although not as crucial a character, I wanna shout out to Nicole Beharie as Allison Stirider, Wayne’s wife. I don’t think I had ever seen her, but I was instantly obsessed. It was like if someone put Kerry Washington and Meagan Good in a blender. She plays one of those rider-or-die type wife’s and stole every scene she was in as far as I am concerned. Will be looking out for good things in her future.
This film was rather intense, as it should have been. The execution was good. The relationship between Strider and Scrarpa was interesting. They really didn’t like each other that much and had very little in common so watching the uneasy alliance was one of the things that it seems like you don’t see often enough in these movies. Although they ultimately learn to work together, it’s never easy. They still don’t particularly like each other. I wish the movie could have shown more of this odd, forced, uncomfortable pairing. It felt like we didn’t get enough of these two characters together at all. And as fun as Scrarpa was on screen, it did feel a little one note. We tet a dynamic shift with Strider; We see how Scrarpa influences him but unfortunately, we don’t really get the inverse.
Still, a very enjoyable film. My score 8.2
By all means, tell me your thoughts on By Any Means in the comments. And until next time…
