I Came By movie review & film summary (2022)
It's rare to accuse a Netflix thriller of being too ambitious, but so is the case with Babak Anvari's "I Came By," a mostly effective potboiler that has the opposite problem of so many mini-series on the streaming service, in which its The TV season is worth the thoughts crammed into its runtime. Thrillers are all about tension, but Anvari, the charming filmmaker behind the excellent “Under the Shadows” and the bonkers “Wunds,” struggles with a balance between social commentary and old-fashioned thrillers, mostly holding his own in the latter. loses. He continually defies expectations that "I Came Here" is led by shifting the POV and jumping the major route in time, but this leads to a film that is uncertain about its identity. Has not been able to fulfill his ideas with its execution. Having said that, "I Come Buy" has some fun performances and clever themes, two things that elevate it above a lot of products coming out of the Netflix thriller Factory.
George McKay of "1917" plays Toby, a young graffiti artist who has the unique M.O. To paint his art not for public viewing but in the private homes of the rich and powerful. Accompanied by his friend Jay (Purcell Ascot), Toby breaks into expensive homes and tags a wall with the phrase "I came by". Why? It's not entirely clear, but Toby probably likes to make people who are untouched by society feel vulnerable as well. He will learn that this is not always the case.
When Jay parted ways because his girlfriend's pregnancy caused him to change his priorities, Toby decided to do the next job alone. This leads her to the home of a former judge named Hector Blake (Hugh Bonneville, relishing the opportunity to turn his stately demeanor into something dangerous), who looks like a sensible member of his community. Inside Blake's basement, Toby sees a light under a hidden door, and finds, well, you probably saw "Don't Breathe".
However, it's not quite the movie as Toby doesn't get into a battle of wills with Blake. "I Come By" transfers the protagonist here to Toby's mother (Kelly MacDonald), who becomes concerned that her 23-year-old son has disappeared from the face of the earth. Her quest to find him leads her into Jai's life, and Anwari and co-writer Namsi Khan have at least one more POV twist left as their film piece together the story of Blake's dark secrets and Toby's fate. Is.
Anvari's film is almost more interested in its social consciousness than in raising the heart rate of the audience. Blake is the kind of man who can drop the name of his police chief friend during the investigation to save himself from the investigation. There's an element of "I Come By" that isn't so much about what happens behind closed doors as it is about how often powerful people can get away with murder in plain sight. Bonneville nailed such blatant malice—the type who knows it's too powerful to get into any trouble, right? In fact, his performance arguably shifts the balance of the film so much that the "nice guys" don't feel like they have enough character to counter it. McKay is particularly shallow as Toby, though that may be part of the point. The film is read as about a young man making hollow gestures against a system he hasn't really taken the time to understand, or is scared enough of.
"I Came By" is undeniably well-composed and entertaining, its missteps being overlooked most of the time. Yes, it's a rewrite of the lack of greatness, but Bonneville makes it worth a visit, even if its final needle drop on the credits is a sign of its upheaval. Yes, sure, "everyone wants to rule the world." what else is new?
