By Any Means review - Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II drama provokes with horror of 1960s racism

Key Points:

• The film "By Any Means" dramatizes the violent aftermath of Black voting rights suppression in 1960s Mississippi, focusing on activist Vernon Dahmer's fight against poll taxes and his subsequent murder by the Ku Klux Klan.
• The story follows FBI agent Wayne Strider, a composite character, who teams up with mobster Gregory Scarpa to bring justice to Dahmer's killers, blending historical events with fictional elements.
• Director Elegance Bratton employs vibrant visuals and a lush depiction of Mississippi but relies heavily on emotive scoring and occasionally over-explains themes, with some jarring stylistic choices like a sudden first-person shooter sequence.
• The film does not shy away from graphic violence and racial terror, portraying brutal torture and racist abuse, though it takes dramatic liberties, such as fictionalizing the fate of Dahmer’s wife, which has sparked criticism from Dahmer's family.
• Bratton states the film is not intended as a strict historical account but as a commentary on ongoing racism, resulting in a grim, unsettling, and provocative work that challenges viewers to confront America's racist past.