Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- foreboding
- tense
- morally complex
- serious movie night
- historical drama night
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The central investigation concerns the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi and draws on the real-life figure Gregory Scarpa.
Mafia hitman Gregory Scarpa and young FBI agent Wayne Strider must cooperate despite their opposing institutional and criminal identities.
The plot explicitly centers on murders of civil rights leaders, the Ku Klux Klan, and 1966 Mississippi.
An FBI agent joins forces with a notorious mafia hitman to investigate politically charged murders.
Films like By Any Means, and why
Mississippi Burning
shared historical crime investigation, racial violence, and morally conflicted law enforcement
Judas and the Black Messiah
shared 1960s civil rights context, institutional racism, and tense political crime drama
In the Heat of the Night
shared southern racial tension, investigation-driven drama, and confrontations with entrenched prejudice
Movie Details
- Director
- Elegance Bratton
- Release Date
- 2026-09-03
- Rating
- 0.0 / 10
Cast
- Mark Wahlberg
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
- Nicole Beharie
- David Strathairn
- Giancarlo Esposito
- Josh Lucas
- Ethan Embry
- LisaGay Hamilton
- LaChanze
Common questions
- What is By Any Means about?
- An FBI agent and a mafia assassin form a dangerous alliance to expose the forces behind a wave of civil rights murders in 1960s Mississippi.
- What is By Any Means like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of By Any Means as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is By Any Means violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in By Any Means as mild.
- Which films are like By Any Means?
- Films with a similar feel include Mississippi Burning, Judas and the Black Messiah, and In the Heat of the Night.
