Mississippi Burning is a fictional movie, but it’s loosely based on a real event, the June 1964 murder of three civil rights activists – Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney. In the film, the young men remain nameless and the story is focused on the efforts of the FBI agents tasked with tracking down their murderers. Agent Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) is a rising star in the agency, bullet-scarred and tested in the trenches. He’s determined to run a textbook investigation and clear the case with dispatch. His junior is Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman), some years older, with his own life experience as a sheriff in Mississippi.