By Any Means - True Story
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The film follows an unlikely partnership between a Black FBI agent and Greg Scarpa, a New York Mafia enforcer. Scarpa is recruited to assist an investigation into Klan violence and the murders of civil rights activists in Mississippi, where federal authorities face significant obstacles in bringing perpetrators to justice.
Set during the Civil Rights Movement, the film depicts the turbulent state of race relations in the United States following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Despite these landmark legislative victories, the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations continued campaigns of bombings, assaults, intimidation, and murder directed at Black Americans and civil rights activists. In many Southern communities, local law enforcement agencies were often reluctant to investigate these crimes or actively obstructed efforts to hold those responsible accountable, leading the FBI and other federal authorities to take a more active role in civil rights enforcement.
Mississippi, where the Klan maintained a particularly strong presence, was among the most dangerous states for civil rights activists and one of the most challenging environments for federal investigators. Against this backdrop, By Any Means portrays the alliance between a federal agent and a criminal enforcer as they attempt to identify and prosecute those responsible for Klan violence.
Although By Any Means dramatizes certain events and characters, it draws inspiration from real FBI investigations and efforts to combat Klan violence during the 1960s.
By Any Means, directed by Elegance Bratton and starring Mark Wahlberg, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Giancarlo Esposito, Ethan Embry, Josh Lucas, and Nicole Beharie, explores the alliances, dangers, and compromises that emerged in the fight against racial violence while balancing historical inspiration with dramatic storytelling. ~Megan Parsons