The story is loosely based on the real-life murders of civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. After the three are reported missing, two FBI agents are sent to investigate the incident in rural Jessup County, Mississippi (modeled after Neshoba County where the real murders took place).
The two agents take completely different approaches: Agent Alan Ward (Wilem Dafoe), a young liberal northerner, takes a direct approach to the investigation; Agent Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman), a former Mississippi sheriff who understands the intricacies of race relations in the South, takes a more subtle tack.
It is very hard for the two to work in the town, as the local sheriff’s office is linked to a major branch of the Ku Klux Klan, and the agents cannot talk to the local black community, due to their fear of Klan retaliation. Slowly but steadily, relations between the FBI and the local Jessup County sheriff’s office deteriorate, as do relations between Ward and Anderson.
Things boil over when the bodies are found and the deputy sheriff, Clinton Pell (Brad Dourif), realizes that his wife gave their locations to Anderson, and he assaults her. When Anderson sees her in the hospital, he storms off to confront Pell but is stopped by Ward. After a brief scuffle, the two agree that they will work together and bring down the Jessup County branch of the Ku Klux Klan using Anderson’s as yet untried approach.
The new tactics begin when the mayor is abducted. He is taken to a remote shack and left on his own with a black man (Badja Djola) wearing a rudimentary mask, similar to those used by KKK members in the film. Relating a story of how a young black man was castrated by the KKK, he implies that the mayor will likewise be mutilated unless he talks, by wielding a razor blade while relating the tale.
In reality, the abductor is an FBI operative specially flown in to intimidate the mayor. The mayor gives the operative a comprehensive description of the killings, including the names of those involved; although not admissible in court, this information proves invaluable to Anderson and Ward and moves the investigation forward.
Director: Alan Parker
Year of Release: 1988
Character to watch: Gene Hackman as Agent Rupert Anderson.
Journal your answers to the following questions after you watch the movie.
- How does this particular character’s journey compare with yours?
- Did the character develop certain characteristics during the movie that you have or that you would like to have? If so, what are those characteristics?
- What obstacles did this character face? What was his or her biggest challenge?
- What would you have done differently if you had been in the same position as the character?
- Is this character the type of person you would be friends with? Why or why not?