Streaming experienced a big August in 2022. HBO Max’s release of the prequel series to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, was good news for its fans. Calendar of Netflix streaming had a whole list of new seasons, original releases and what is coming up in August and the next half of 2022. Biographical films on TV still continue to be fashionable, but thrillers too have held their sway over households all around the world. Whether American centered or South Korean based or situated in between as United Kingdom one can note that thriller contents remain a consistent feature on streaming platforms worldwide. Netflix has released another movie called I Came By, which promises disruption for genres stereotypes.
He had formerly directed Wounds and Under the Shadow in Farsi language which are two horror movies by Babak Anvari who leads this project. I Came By picks up from his previous projects where he develops not just a psychological narrative but also one that originates from the world these characters inhabit and what led them there for example choices they made regarding their lives. It appears that with its distribution via Netflix and cast having an impressive array of awards behind their names this movie was meant for bigger things. The expectations were high after Anvari’s two previous full-length features which received rather mixed reviews to say the least. Did it meet all those expectations? That is something only you can know.
George MacKay (Sam Mendes’ 1917) is Toby who plays big role: protagonist here; Percelle Ascott (Wizards vs Aliens) once again comes out as Toby’s childhood friend Jay who eventually quits when he realizes there is something more important about what they do than just danger itself; Hugh Bonneville (Paddington, Downtown Abbey) does play completely different character than usual audience knows him as evil one in this case. Kelly MacDonald (Boardwalk Empire, Operation Mincemeat), Varada Sethu (Jurassic World Dominion, Now You See Me 2), and Antonio Aakeel will be other actors to look out for.
The young graffiti artist at I Came By is the protagonist Toby (MacKay) whom we see moving around by tagging up the homes of Britain’s rich. Equipped with tools that secret agents would typically possess on such mission; such as those used by this guy while scaling heights of buildings throughout night time, he physically trespasses into their houses. However, one man cannot do it all alone—his partner in crime since childhood has been his best friend Jay (Ascott). Although they started off as mere family friends who grew up together, eventually they both decided to concentrate on tagging the residences of some of the wealthiest people in England. Their calling card says “I Came By” marking itself at every scene thereby tittle and content origin may be easily traced here.
However, that is when things get messy for Jay who will later find out that his girlfriend is having their baby. Now he feels obliged to be responsible towards his unborn child and wants to quit the graffiti operation on the hopes that one day, by doing so, he can raise a child instead of going to jail if he continues with Toby. But what causes these two boys to do this? Is it just an exciting experience they derive from breaking into other people’s homes and damaging them? One thing is clear: Toby has issues in his personal life since her mother does not understand what drives him and eventually leaves her home looking for him while picking another target: Hector Blake.
But as Toby breaks into Blake’s house and finds something hidden deep in the basement, he decides on yet another mission: now alone perhaps but determined to take apart who or whatever Blake really is. On a wiser note though, Toby never chose Blake as his usual prey because unlike others whom he targets randomly without any loss of thought or mere survival tactics he uses against the ordinary citizens. He was a well-recognized attorney who fought for those in law areas whose voices were often ignored and this might be seen as making him attractive as far as immediate sensibilities are concerned but definitely nothing else. In addition, Toby dislikes him due to his childhood background of nobility whereby any hint of old money makes him hold such individuals in contempt. When facts unfold themselves, they apply another layer beneath the man who seems like somebody that gave up everything just for common good but actually there’s more than meets the eye here. What truly defines a person as good? This is a question that builds up upon Anvari’s theme that all may not be what it seems.
I Came By takes on an entirely different guise than its original form commenting on how the wealthy and influential can get away with anything–if they know the right people. For example when Hugh Bonneville plays the role of Blake, he always puts on a look of complacency. In contrast to Toby, an underweight delinquent; this scenario offers some insights into society and law enforcement. The problem with I Came By is that it never progresses beyond a superficial level in its critique of present society. It raises these issues, starts to unearth their roots but then moves away from them for another instance or any other turn in the story line for example.
One of the key highlights of I Came By is its performances, more so that of Hugh Bonneville. The actor may be remembered by Paddington’s fans as the patriarch from Paddington’s foster family; however, in I Came By he oozes a brand of sleaziness that makes for uncomfortable viewing as the film twists inside out on itself. MacKay, who previously starred in movies such as 1917, does a good job as Toby, but his character’s motives and reasoning are flawed which means his performance has only limited success. This shift enables this perspective to be examined from other actors like the mother and Jay and gives them a chance to shine even though it may not have been necessary for the long run.
The movie also does an excellent job of keeping the viewers on their toes. Sure enough there are clichés interspersed into the story line especially when it gets into its final arc and Toby might not just be butting stubbornly irrational characters. This happened a lot with content and themes especially those that relate to what is happening today and what has happened historically knowing how much do you know about your most cherished public figure? Is it possible for one to believe their crimes if they were brought out into the open? Would they still think it was him making up those stories even if they knew he was a criminal who broke into people’s houses to gather data or else art against normative values? And lastly, does coming by these spray paintings in rich people houses – these private domestic places rather than public ones really change anything?
I Came By has a lot of potential, but gets lost in its concepts, ideas, and characters. Maybe if it had been turned into mini-series instead of one movie containing all these subplots then some subplots together with characters would breathe at ease while holding themselves up. As it stands now, I Came By suffers from excessive ambition trying to move between different perspectives and timelines in order to add depth. Instead, it confuses the themes established originally by doing this that way of presentation does not work well. The mother subplot is a little redundant, makes for a rough jump from the start of the movie and its tones, and appears as though it serves as an unnecessary attempt to inject backstory into something that has already happened. Until the mid-point, the film is on fairly solid ground but then it becomes slow and weak. It’s worth watching because it adds some interesting twists to the genre and clever moves that keep one guessing what comes next; however, by the end it is not such a revolution.
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