By Any Means film explores 1960s Mississippi crime

The film ‘By Any Means’ follows two mismatched partners in 1966 Mississippi: Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a stoic Black FBI agent, and Gregory Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg), a violent New York mobster. The plot centers on the investigation into the murder of Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito), a prominent Black businessman and NAACP president killed by the Ku Klux Klan.

Critics note the film struggles with an uneven tone, oscillating between a dark crime drama and a buddy-cop action comedy. While the chemistry between the restrained Strider and the amoral, performative Scarpa provides entertainment, the film’s shift between intense violence and comedic elements creates a jarring experience against the backdrop of the American civil rights era.