By Any Means: A Grisly, Controversial Look at 1960s Voter Suppression

Key points

• The film is set in 1966 Mississippi, focusing on the aftermath of the Ku Klux Klan murder of NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer, who had promised to pay poll taxes for poor Black voters.
• Mark Wahlberg plays mobster Gregory Scarpa, who is brought in by the FBI to help track down the killers, while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays a composite FBI agent named Wayne Strider.
• Director Elegance Bratton has stated the film is not a strict historical account but uses history to comment on contemporary conditions, leading to significant embellishments of the real events.
• The film features graphic depictions of violence, including the burning of Dahmer's home and torture scenes, which some critics find excessively grim and difficult to endure.
• Vernon Dahmer's youngest son has called for a boycott of the film, describing it as 'mostly fiction' and criticizing it for relying on 'white hero savior' tropes.

Background

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been in the news recently for his role in the Marvel series 'Wonder Man,' which was canceled after a strong premiere and an Emmy nomination for Abdul-Mateen. His transition from a high-profile Marvel project to this gritty historical drama marks a significant shift in his recent career trajectory.

How outlets are covering it

The Guardian offers a mixed but largely serious review, praising the film's visual flair and its unflinching depiction of historical racism, while noting that the director's choice to embellish history for dramatic effect makes the film 'grimly effective' but also 'one of the most upsetting in recent memory.' In contrast, The Daily Beast is highly critical, dismissing the film as a 'disastrous' period piece and focusing heavily on the absurdity of Mark Wahlberg's prosthetic nose, which they argue is a purposeless distraction in a film that should prioritize veracity. The two outlets diverge significantly on the film's artistic merit, with The Guardian acknowledging its provocative power and The Daily Beast viewing it as a failed attempt at historical realism.

Why it matters

The film highlights the ongoing debate over how to depict historical trauma and racial violence in cinema. It also underscores the tension between artistic license and historical accuracy, particularly when dealing with real-life figures and events that have direct descendants who may feel misrepresented or exploited by the narrative.

What to watch

The film is currently available in Australia and is scheduled for release in the US on September 4, with a UK release to follow. The controversy surrounding the film's historical inaccuracies and the boycott call from the Dahmer family may impact its reception and box office performance.