In 1966 Mississippi, the murder of civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer left the FBI facing a case local authorities had little interest in solving. With members of the Ku Klux Klan embedded in law enforcement, the investigation soon reached a dead end. What followed was an extraordinary chapter of American history: the FBI turned to one of the country’s most notorious mobsters for help.
That little-known story provides the foundation for Paramount Pictures’ By Any Means, a new crime thriller starring Emmy® winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and two-time Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg. Directed by Elegance Bratton and written by Sascha Penn, the film also features Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry with David Strahairn and Giancarlo Esposito.
Abdul-Mateen II stars as Wayne Strider, a fictional composite character inspired by Black FBI agents of the time. A decorated veteran and ambitious agent, Strider reflects the experience of highly accomplished Black agents who were not always given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. “When we first meet Wayne, he's very much by-the-book. He's very much committed to the FBI ethos,” Abdul-Mateen II said. “And then he finally gets his chance to get in the fight, and he's partnered with a mafia hitman, and that causes a profound dilemma in him.”
Wahlberg saw the contrast between the two characters as an opportunity to give their relationship multiple dimensions. “I think there was a lot of room for humor, for conversation, debate, banter, us butting heads and hopefully ultimately learning a little bit from each other; coming together and having that kind of mutual respect, I think was the most important thing. And it’s earned at the end of the movie,” Wahlberg said.
For Bratton, the unlikely partnership between two men from completely different worlds is compelling because it taps into something universal: the human need to rely on one another. “You have to take a risk. You have to be vulnerable. You have to open yourself up to someone that you don’t know in order to know them in the first place,” he said. “That notion of ‘I must collaborate to survive,’ I think, is hardwired into us as a species.”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, left, and Mark Wahlberg star in By Any Means
At the heart of the true story is Dahmer, a Hattiesburg businessman, NAACP chapter president and voting rights activist who devoted himself to helping Black Mississippians exercise their right to vote. He famously said, “If you don’t vote, you don’t count.” The 1966 FBI investigation of his murder grounds the film’s crime-thriller framework in a piece of civil rights history.
Bratton envisioned an action thriller, drawing inspiration from John Woo, along with films including Goodfellas and Inglourious Basterds. “When I read the script, it just grabbed me by the throat, took me on a journey, took no prisoners and asked no questions and made no apologies,” Bratton said. “I just wanted to make a movie where people could have a good time.”
Bratton and producing partner Chester Algernal Gordon also conducted extensive research, traveling to Mississippi and meeting with the Dahmer and Scarpa families, as well as judges, prosecutors and FBI consultants familiar with the case. “Once I got a chance to meet and connect with the Dahmer family, it just meant a lot to me,” Bratton said. “I feel like Vernon Dahmer's story is a story that people need to know, and I'm so honored that I get a chance to help the world become aware.”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, left, and Director Elegance Bratton on the set of By Any Means
Bratton and his creative team built a period setting that balances classic noir with action-thriller energy, developing a 400-page look book inspired by period photography before filming. Cinematographer Ante Cheng used harder lighting and rare anamorphic lenses, while production designer Tommy Love and costume designer Derica Cole Washington drew from the colors and textures of the era.
Wahlberg also underwent a physical transformation to portray Scarpa, using prosthetics to create a portrait of the real-life mobster.
The film’s soundscape brings its own mix of past and present. Terence Blanchard composed a jazz-influenced score, while Diane Warren wrote the original song “By Any Means,” performed by the Isley Brothers and singer-songwriter David Kushner. Warren specifically paired the Isley Brothers with Kushner to echo the movie’s central idea of people from different backgrounds coming together.
When audiences see all of these elements come together on the big screen, Wahlberg thinks they may be surprised by their own reaction to the film. “The response that it elicits from the audience in real time: people yelling, screaming, cheering, clapping. People who wouldn’t normally cheer for some of these things that are happening because of who it’s happening to and how it’s happening, I think people will really appreciate,” he said. “There’s a lot of wish fulfillment in the movie. It’s very satisfying.”
By Any Means premieres in theaters September 4. Get tickets now.