movie reviews i came by

It's rare to accuse a Netflix thriller of being too ambitious but that's 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 that it has a TV season worth of ideas crammed into its runtime. Thrillers are all about tension, but Anvari, the fascinating filmmaker behind the excellent " Under the Shadow " and bonkers " Wounds ," keeps struggling with the balance between social commentary and old-fashioned genre thrills, mostly losing his hold on the latter. He constantly subverts expectations about where "I Came By" is headed by shifting POVs and jumping major passages in time, but it leads to a film that's uncertain of its own identity, not quite able to wed its ideas with its execution. Having said that, there are some fun performances and clever themes in "I Came By," two things that elevate it above a lot of the product coming out of the Netflix Thriller Factory.

George MacKay of "1917" plays Toby, a young graffiti artist who has the unique M.O. of not painting his art in public for everyone to see but in the private homes of the wealthy and powerful. With his buddy Jay ( Percelle Ascott ), Toby breaks into expensive homes and tags a wall with the phrase "I Came By." Why? It's not completely clear, but Toby probably likes to make those who are insulated from society realize that they're vulnerable too. He will learn that isn't always the case.

After Jay breaks up the duo because the pregnancy of his girlfriend makes him shift his priorities, Toby decides to do the next job alone. This leads him to the home of a former judge named Hector Blake ( Hugh Bonneville , relishing the opportunity to turn his stately demeanor into something menacing), who looks like an upstanding member of his community. Inside Blake's basement, Toby sees a light under a hidden door, and finds, well, you've probably seen "Don't Breathe."

However, this is not quite that movie as Toby doesn't get into a battle of wills with Blake. "I Came By" shifts protagonists here to Toby's mother (Kelly Macdonald), who grows increasingly concerned that her 23-year-old son has disappeared off the face of the earth. Her quest to find him leads her into the life of Jay, and Anvari and co-writer Namsi Khan have at least one more POV turn left to take as their film puts together the story of Blake's dark secrets and Toby's fate.

Anvari's film almost seems more interested in its social consciousness than in raising the viewer's heart rate. Blake is the kind of guy who can drop the name of his police chief buddy during an investigation in order to shield himself from inquiry. There's an element of "I Came 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 nails this kind of haughty malevolence—the kind that knows it's too powerful to get in any trouble, right? In fact, his performance arguably shifts the balance of the film a bit too much in that the "good guys" don't feel like they have enough character to counter it. MacKay is particularly shallow as Toby, although that could be part of the point. There's a reading of this film that it's about a young man making hollow gestures against a system that he hasn't really taken the time to understand, or adequately fear.

"I Came By" is undeniably well-composed and entertaining enough for its missteps to be overlooked most of the time. Yes, it's a rewrite short of greatness, but Bonneville makes it worth a visit even if its final needle drop over the credits is indicative of its shallowness. Yes, sure, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." What else is new? 

On Netflix now.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

• George MacKay as Toby
• Kelly MacDonald as
• Hugh Bonneville as
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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘I Came By’ on Netflix, a Sturdy Serial Killer-Thriller That’s as Silly as it is Socially Conscious

Where to stream:, stream it or skip it: ‘speak no evil’ on peacock, in which a lively, loony james mcavoy elevates a preposterous thriller, 'subservience' on netflix: how megan fox got her b-movie groove back, 15 years after 'jennifer's body' flopped, stream it or skip it: 'black doves' on netflix, where keira knightley and ben whishaw are spies for a shadowy organization, 7 shows like 'lioness' if you're in the mood for more female-first international espionage.

Netflix film I Came By stars Hugh Bonneville as a top-shelf upper-crust grade-A supercreep who loves Rick and Morty , which I found rather offensive. NOT ALL RICK AND MORTY UBERFANS ARE SERIAL KILLERS. Just need to make that clear. We didn’t all stand in line for szechuan sauce. Anyway. Director Babak Anvari’s thriller is otherwise a pretty grim affair anchored by the ever-underrated Kelly MacDonald, 1917 ’s George MacKay and the less-recognizable Percelle Ascott, who might just give the most-memorable performance in this oft-watchable, just as oft-improbable movie that slides ideas about privilege and race in with many of the usual genre tropes.

I CAME BY : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Toby (MacKay) and Jay (Ascott) practice antidisestablishmentarianism by breaking into the homes of rich and influential people and tagging their walls with graffiti. I CAME BY is their spraypaint signature, earning them notoriety and news clips. Toby is 23 and jobless, living with his mom (MacDonald), who worries about his anger and aimlessness. We pan over his room, covered with his wild artwork, and hear A Clockwork Orange music – a little bit of the Ludwig Van – which suggests things, maybe. Jay works a legit construction job and, while working on a fancy house belonging to former judge Hector Blake (Bonneville), suggests this old-money guy should be their next target. He’s even got ivory tusks on his mantel. F— that jerk.

But then Jay’s girlfriend Naz (Varada Sethu) has a doctor appointment, and you know what that means in movies like this – yep, she’s pregnant, but the movie wisely stops short of her running to the loo to barf. So Jay wants to get out of the quasi-anarchy biz and fly straight. He’s been nipped a couple times and as a Black man, he says, one more time will put him away for a long time. So Toby has to go it alone. He disables Hector’s wifi security system and gets a big eyeful of the painted portrait of Hector’s father, grimfaced and looming huge over the mantel. Curious. Then he hears a noise in the basement. He investigates. Thump, clunk. Just an oscillating fan. But the thump-clunk continues anyway. Where’s that sliver of light coming from? A secret hidden door?

Elsewhere, it’s established that Hector is very very fit and just as connected: He just walloped the police commish in a game of racquetball. He’s also connected in a technology sense – he gets a phone notification that his security system has been disarmed. Uh oh. All I’ll say is that things progress, ominously. Hector’s eating lunch in front of the TV one day and the clunk-thump-clunk from downstairs is loud so he just turns up Rick and Morty to drown it out and then KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. It’s the cops. Which might almost be funnier than Rick and Morty (it’s not; nothing’s funnier than Rick and Morty ), because do you really think a rich white former judge can’t lean on the cops and get the benefit of the doubt?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: I Came By is a derivation of Don’t Breathe and The Silence of the Lambs in a 2022 sociopolitical context a la Get Out .

Performance Worth Watching: Ascott is awarded a character with relative nuance in a screenplay that saddles MacDonald and Bonneville with 1-D arcs – fraught mother and psycho deviant, respectively. Jay is at least caught between the good ol’ rock and a hard place, torn between helping his pal Toby, a path to inevitable trouble, and committing to his young family.

Memorable Dialogue: Hector sneers at a cop – Black and female, notably – who’s investigating his fishy behavior: “Is that all you got? You looked like one of the smart ones.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: I Came By is a thoughtfully directed exercise in suspense and heavy-handed socially conscious gestures that maintains our interest despite a sloppy screenplay that makes awkward jumps through time and frequently shifts from one protagonist to the next. That makes it hard to fall into a groove with any of the characters, Anvari (co-writing with Namsi Khan) leaning on our general disgust for the Bonneville baddie’s vile nature to drive the plot forward – forward through plot holes, implausible situations and logical inconsistencies.

But those aren’t dealbreakers. Anvari’s greater concern seems to be to keep us off balance and guessing his next maneuver, waiting for the other shoe to drop even though it never drops. Rather than remaining content to offer another bland crime-thriller, the filmmaker further couches his ambitions in the text, making damn sure we’re aware that White Privilege is the demon whispering in the ears of the powerful class, ever arrogant and overconfident. Sometimes a little anarchy is necessary to balance things out, and if that suggestion isn’t much for subtext, at least it’s something.

Will you stream or skip the grim thriller #ICameBy on @netflix ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) September 1, 2022

Our Call: STREAM IT. I Came By is sometimes little more than an inch deep and often more than a bit silly. But it keeps our eyes and ears and brains engaged, the mark of a rock-solid thriller.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com .

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I Came By Reviews

Babak Anvari is good at creating terror out of unassuming situations, and the first 40 minutes or so of I Came By sees an effective building of tension. Afterwards, though, things start going a little bit downhill.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 25, 2024

It’s a gritty takedown of counterfeit upper-class civility, exposing generations of systemic inequality and racism as an aristocratic prejudice.

Full Review | Oct 26, 2023

It's ending won't impress all, nor will it's convoluted plot, but many viewers may enjoy I Came By for what it is; a fun little thriller that has big ambitions and a rare villainous performance from Bonneville.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 24, 2023

I Came By is proof that Babak Anvari has yet to discover his footing as a storyteller in the horror, mystery, and thriller-related space.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 20, 2023

I Came By is definitely elevated by [Hugh] Bonneville’s steely turn as Sir Hector, using his veneer of civility and harmlessness to trick and ensnare.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 9, 2023

I Came By delivers an uncomfortable look at just how far privilege and connections can protect a person, even as it fails to manage to bring its narrative together to form a truly cohesive and engaging story.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jan 4, 2023

Heavy-handed.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Dec 22, 2022

The movie never quite goes where it seems to be pointed, eventually turning into a tense procedural; we watch as puzzle pieces almost fall into place, and then are cruelly swatted away.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 2, 2022

A skilful genre flick bogged down by a heavy-handed touch.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 22, 2022

It’s the thriller elements that energize the movie. Anvari shows himself to be a savvy filmmaker with enough tricks up his sleeve to keep us guessing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 17, 2022

I Came By does a nifty job of twisting our expectations. Bonneville’s quietly sinister killer is the stuff of nightmares.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Sep 16, 2022

Hugh Bonneville as a posh but psychotic killer with serious daddy issues. So-so script but enjoyable enough as a pulse-pounding thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 12, 2022

Look hard enough and you'll find some themes about wealth, class and white privilege but the very taut direction by Babak Anvari keeps focus on the tension, resulting in a nifty, rather violent little thriller that is not designed for the faint-hearted.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 9, 2022

The best passages of Anvari and Khan’s script exemplify the rush of when a movie doesn’t feel like the same one it did five minutes ago.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Sep 9, 2022

Babak Anvari's return to genre-fluid form.

It does, however, have a delightfully sinister turn from Bonneville and some decent social commentary, so it’s not a complete loss, but there’s little else here to separate it from the rest of the Netflix chaff.

Full Review | Sep 8, 2022

Bonneville and Kelly Macdonald (as Toby's worried mother) are the best things in I Came By, but not even they could make a silk purse out of this sow's ear.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 8, 2022

A surprising thriller charged with suspense and dementedness that in spite of its classic structure and without being original, still maintains the audience on permanent high alert. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Sep 7, 2022

Violent thriller has flawed antihero and psychotic villain.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 3, 2022

It doesn’t always work, but an unexpected, perfectly pitched bad-guy turn from national treasure Hugh Bonneville makes I Came By just about worth stopping by for.

• Cast & crew

User reviews

Better than I'd expected.

• Sleepin_Dragon
• Sep 1, 2022

Watchable, but could have been far better!

• Aug 31, 2022

Unpredictable till the very end

• Sep 8, 2022

Not what I expected, but I enjoyed this.

Fresh storyline and unpredictable plot - deserves credit.

• indiana1981
• Aug 30, 2022

Surprisingly Well-Acted

• albertval-69560

"He was old".

• FrancisHHooks
• Sep 10, 2022

This is too stupid 🤦‍♀️

• Feb 27, 2023

Starts off interesting, builds well and then falls at the final hurdle

• craighmelbs

What a ridiculous mess.....Don't waste your time

• ekwok888-725-796504
• Sep 3, 2022

Solid Thriller...

• Sep 4, 2022

Well made thriller!

• Sep 18, 2022

Bring back my time!!!!

• Jan 13, 2023

Solid film.

• seanpatrix-518-150814

A bit of a surprise

• justahunch-70549
• Nov 15, 2022

Not all bad

• Sep 12, 2022

Not a great start but gets better

• kirstybee-46401

So disappointing

• skyforestsong
• Dec 21, 2022

A compelling cocept halted by poor writing and editing.

• Muhammad-Broxford
• Apr 8, 2023

What Walt's Watching

• waltermwilliams

Fairly depressing

• Sep 26, 2022

Movie insults your intelligence, garbage

• singhjaspreeet
• Sep 5, 2022

A Tasty snack

• Sep 30, 2022

A good suspense

• Sep 2, 2022

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• Entertainment

'I Came By' on Netflix: Ending Explained and All Lingering Questions Answered

The British crime thriller left us confused, frustrated and weirdly uplifted.

• Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards

Hugh Bonneville stars in I Came By.

I Came By  starts off as an on-the-nose social commentary about class and privilege but quickly turns into a disturbing horror flick. The  Netflix  movie stars some accomplished British actors and initially doles out several gripping twists. 

But does it bring home a satisfying ending? Not really, given the confusion over the identity of a particular person in a particular basement. Plus, when it seemed certain characters would survive, they ended up incinerated off screen. 

Let's drill into this frustrating flick.

Read more:   The Best Shows on Netflix

Spoilers ahead and a content warning: sexual violence, self-harm, suicide

These two do not have an easy time.

Who is Hector Blake?

That's Sir Hector Blake. He was shipped away to board at Birlstone School as a junior. He later studied law and became a High Court judge, but recently retired after 30 years. He was regarded as a "saint," known for his "philanthropic work on behalf of refugees." He was involved in a prominent fictional case with Kazima Ajang in 2016, according to a letter he receives from a student asking him if he'll read their dissertation. (He promptly chucks it in the bin.) 

This is all a thin veil hiding Blake's true identity. Toby reads up on Blake, discovering his family were all "staunch colonialists," his father a factory owner. Blake quit being a High Court judge after a year, calling the bench too "white and elitist" seemingly to avert attention from his own shady history.

He also reveals his wife is in Chesham House, a psychiatric hospital. He regularly plays squash with police superintendent William Roy and, crucially, likes watching Rick and Morty.

What are Blake's motivations?

Why is Blake drugging migrant workers and imprisoning at least one person in his basement? Much of his creepy conversation with Omid when he invites Omid over to his fancy house reveals his motivations.

Blake says his father invited Ravi to live in their house "like a member of the family." Eventually, he invited Ravi "into his bed." According to Blake, this drove his mother to suicide. Blake was the one who discovered her with her wrists sliced open. Shipped off to boarding school, Blake believed his father had replaced him and his mother with Ravi. He calls Ravi a "peasant" and says he "hated" him.

A line Toby's friend Jay (Percelle Ascott) says at the beginning of the movie, referencing a portrait of Blake's father, suggests Blake is acting in the same way as his father. "Is that your old man? I can see the resemblance." Blake proceeds to stare at the portrait meaningfully.

Blake might also be gay, but the "rage" inside him is "very hard to suppress" when it comes to the boy he hated growing up -- Ravi. It's possible Blake wrestles with his hatred for anyone echoing Ravi, as well as his sexual feelings for them. This could be why he keeps Said alive and entrapped in his basement, similar to how his father kept Ravi as his prisoner, of sorts.

Is that Ravi in the basement?

The answer is no. The man kept chained in the basement of Blake (Hugh Bonneville, of Downton Abbey fame) definitely isn't Ravi. How do we know that?

For one thing, the timing would be way off. Blake told his masseuse Omid (Yazdan Qafouri) that growing up, his family had a young Indian-Persian helper named Ravi. His father "came across him working in his factory, and decided to take him under his wing." Blake says he was a "little boy" himself at the time and was later shipped off to boarding school at age 9. In a photo rebellious graffiti artist Toby (George MacKay) inspects in Blake's house after breaking in, there are two boys: one who appears to be Blake and a much taller one who appears to be Ravi. This all indicates Ravi was likely older than Blake, so the young man found chained in his basement must be someone else, probably another migrant worker. Blake's backstory reveals he despised Ravi, and it appears he's still on a vendetta to unleash his bouts of rage on more victims.

The main reason we know the man isn't Ravi is because  IMDb lists the prisoner's name as Said  and says he's played by Tarik Badwan.

Hector Blake blackmails Omid into getting in his car.

What happens to Ravi?

"I thought I'd killed him, one summer when I came back from school. I pounced on him like a savage beast," Blake tells Omid. "Nearly destroyed his face." Toby discovers a photograph of Ravi with the side of his head looking bloodied, apparently the aftermath of this attack.

We never hear the end of the story, so it's understandable to connect the dots and think Ravi was the prisoner in Blake's basement, not Said. Potentially, Blake treated Ravi the same way as his other victims: killing him and burning the remains.

What happens to Omid?

After Omid manages to escape Blake's house despite being drugged, Blake essentially blackmails Omid into getting in his car, warning he has the power to either stop or expedite his application for permanent settlement in the UK. We later see Blake in his basement, holding Omid's phone, which has a smear of blood on it. 

Omid can be heard banging on the secret room's door, yelling to be freed. (By now, Said would have been moved to Blake's other secret room in his garage.) Blake's clothes are off, suggesting either he and Omid had sex before Blake trapped him, or Blake is simply burning his clothes and any evidence of blood. Blake later chops Omid up and incinerates him in his kiln (which belonged to his pottery-loving wife), just as he did with Toby and then his mother Elisabeth.

What's the final message of 'I Came By'?

A literal "I came by" graffiti tag is left on the wall in Blake's house after he's captured. Sadly, it isn't Toby who's able to give his final triumphant stamp. He never gets to show his mother Elisabeth and the world that he really did care about big issues (although, maybe Elisabeth understood once she, too, saw Blake's true self). Instead, it's Jay who writes the message in Toby's honor.

Director Babak Anvari said that, when it comes to themes, I Came By is "very timely." 

"The core of it is about how institutions can fail us, and if the institutions are failing us, shouldn't we, as individuals, take responsibility and have each other's backs?" Anvari said. "So that was like the central theme of it that I really wanted to tap into."

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Common Sense Media Review

Violent thriller has flawed antihero and psychotic villain.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that I Came By is a violent thriller set on the unforgiving streets of London with strong language throughout. Central character Toby (George MacKay) is a flawed anti-establishment antihero, committing crimes -- mainly vandalism -- against those he believes are in the wrong. However, when…

Why Age 15+?

Characters are attacked, stabbed, burned, and tied up. Victims are hit over the

Countless uses of the word "f--k," as well as "s--t" and "d--khead."

Characters smoke semi-frequently, especially when stressed. The police find a ca

A couple passionately kiss in what appears to be foreplay, but are interrupted.

Any Positive Content?

Set in London, the film depicts the city's multiculturalism, as well as the diff

Toby has had a difficult upbringing and is anti-establishment, committing crimes

There is little by way of positive messages with conflict and violence at the he

Parents need to know that I Came By is a violent thriller set on the unforgiving streets of London with strong language throughout. Central character Toby ( George MacKay ) is a flawed anti-establishment antihero, committing crimes -- mainly vandalism -- against those he believes are in the wrong. However, when he targets high court judge Hector Blake ( Hugh Bonneville ), violence ensues. People are hit over the head with crickets bats, stabbed, and tied up. Some of the more gory violence is alluded to rather than shown, such as someone's head being sawn off or a body being burned. There is also graphic reference to a suicide. A character drugs his victims to get what he wants. The language is strong and frequent, with many uses of the word "f--k." Characters smoke and drink on occasion, and pot and ecstasy are found, but are not seen being used.

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Violence & Scariness

Characters are attacked, stabbed, burned, and tied up. Victims are hit over the head with cricket bats. Someone has their head cut off -- the camera cuts away just before it occurs. The corpse of someone who has been killed is shown. Bloodstains on weapons and gashes on foreheads. A character speaks in graphic detail about their parent's suicide.

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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters smoke semi-frequently, especially when stressed. The police find a cannabis joint that a character recently smoked. A parent finds ecstasy tablets in their child's draw. Characters drink at home, alone. A character takes diazepam to help with their anxiety. Characters are drugged against their will.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

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Diverse Representations

Set in London, the film depicts the city's multiculturalism, as well as the differing socioeconomic standards in the city -- the latter leading to conflict. The two main characters are White, while two of the main supporting characters are people of color. The officer and detective leading the case are both Black. References to a character's skin color and the prejudice they face are mentioned, such as when they tell someone that as a Black man they can't get caught for vandalism, as they'll get a bigger punishment than his White counterparts.

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Positive Role Models

Toby has had a difficult upbringing and is anti-establishment, committing crimes against those he perceives to be the "enemy," such as vandalism. His mother won't stop at anything to try and protect her son, believing that the police are not doing enough to help when he goes missing. Hector Blake is a sociopathic villain. He uses his power and standing as a high court judge to deceive the police and manipulate others. He is hiding in plain sight, purporting to be a man of good and justice. He preys on the vulnerable.

Positive Messages

There is little by way of positive messages with conflict and violence at the heart of the film. Perseverance is shown by some.

Where to Watch

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What's the Story?

I CAME BY is about a young graffiti artist called Toby ( George MacKay ), who alongside his best friend, Jay ( Percelle Ascott ), strive to hit back at society and target those in power. One of which is high court judge Hector Blake ( Hugh Bonneville ). However, with Blake they more than meet their match, putting both themselves tand Toby's mother, Lizzie ( Kelly Macdonald ), in grave danger.

Is It Any Good?

Babak Anvari 's brings a Hitchcockian touch to modern day London in this striking, yet violent thriller. I Came By constantly surprises, never giving the viewer what they expect. The movie veers away from convention, subverting cliches so often found in this genre. This element of surprise is exemplified in the casting. Bonneville's sociopathic character is a real piece of work and is a departure from the gentler roles the actor is more associated with -- Downton Abbey will never be the same again. But it's a challenge he more than rises up to.

The film could just be that little bit slicker though. It has great ideas and the substance is there, but stylistically it just feels lacking somewhat. As a modern-day noir of this nature, having a more stylized, cinematic aesthetic would enrich the material. But it remains a movie with good ideas and great performances. And that's half the job done.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in I Came By . What impact did it have? What consequences were there? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?

Talk about the strong language used. What impact did it have on the movie?

Discuss the character of Toby. How might he be described as an "antihero?" What do you understand that term to mean?

How were drinking, smoking, and drug use depicted in the film? Were they glamorized? What did they add to the movie?

Actor Hugh Bonneville goes against type and plays a villain in this movie. Did you enjoy this departure? What other examples can you think of where actors who are known for playing one type of role play something completely different?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : August 31, 2022
• Cast : George MacKay , Hugh Bonneville , Kelly Macdonald
• Director : Babak Anvari
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Female writers
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Thriller
• Run time : 110 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 17, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Home » Movies » Movie Reviews

‘I Came By’ Review – A Wicked Turn By Bonneville

Talk about changing up a dramatic and family-friendly filmography. I Came By, a horror thriller by director Babak Anvari, allows Hugh Bonneville to be seen in a new light. The Downtown Abbey and Paddington actor goes full H.H. Holmes in the Netflix thriller. He plays Hector Blake, a retired judge who is enjoying the good life after putting his wife in a psychiatric hospital. He lures young men into this home. The judge then puts them in the panic room, torturing them with a homemade paddle, and I can only assume he says off camera, “Case dismissed,” every time he takes a swing.

I never thought we would have a script that attempts to combine Banksy’s themes of capitalism, hypocrisy, and greed, but here we are. Written by Anvari and co-writer Namsi Khan ( Humans ), it follows Toby ( 1917 ‘s George McKay) and Jay (Percelle Ascott), who make political statements by spraying graffiti on the walls of the wealthy elite with the phrase, I Came By.

However, after Jay gets his girlfriend pregnant, Toby carries on without him. He breaks into Hector’s home and finds more than he bargained for a hidden panic room with a large metal door and a reverse peephole. When he looks inside, he is horrified.

What happens next is an investigation game of tag, and you are it. Anvari and Khan’s script is not your typical game of cat and mouse. It is not exactly a wholly original structure, but the plot does not follow Bonneville’s Hector around as he picks off his victims. The judge is playing more defense than offense, if you catch my drift, as they come closer to his secret.

Is he guilty? Before you complain about letting poor psychopathic Henry Brown, just watch Rick and Morty and stop for the day; there is a woman who is asking that same question. That’s Kelly MacDonald’s Lizzy, who plays Toby’s mother and helps move the film along and build natural tension. It is a cliched role but a reliable performance that keeps the viewer interested.

I Came By is a giant metaphor for how greed can treat,”…your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” While not getting into spoilers, the story may be a bit formulaic. Some of the plot points, like the judge being momentarily arrested, do not work, or at least not as well as they should. However, I enjoyed the “transitions” of how the story evolves. Anvari and Khan are never afraid to stick to a standard, comfortable ending for their characters or stories. On top of a thoroughly enjoyable and wicked performance from Bonneville, I Came By may not be a first-rate thriller, but a second-rate one can sometimes be just as good.

Read More: I Came By Ending Explained

Article by Marc Miller

Marc Miller (also known as M.N. Miller) joined Ready Steady Cut in April 2018 as a Film and TV Critic, publishing over 1,600 articles on the website. Since a young age, Marc dreamed of becoming a legitimate critic and having that famous “Rotten Tomato” approved status – in 2023, he achieved that status.

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I came by review: anvari's thoughtful thriller is surprisingly lacking in bite.

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Thrillers can be tricky to write about in a spoiler-free way, but I Came By seems especially so. Not because the story is especially twisty, but because the surprises it does hold are so crucial to its overall effect. It benefits from the sense of writer-director Babak Anvari's authorial hand making a few strong, thoughtful decisions about both narrative and style that aren't exactly typical of the genre, which end up providing the most food for thought. Viewers with the background to properly admire them will likely get the most out of watching it. Those who engage with it on the level of the whole, however, might find it less than the sum of its parts — gripping enough to leave them positive on the experience, but not entirely sold on the validity of this formal experiment.

The title of I Came By refers to two young graffiti activists, Toby (George MacKay) and Jay (Percelle Ascott), who have made waves by breaking into the homes of the upper class and spray-painting that phrase on their walls. Coming off their latest successful job, Jay learns that his girlfriend Naz (Varada Sethu) is pregnant, and making a political statement no longer seems worth the risk of jail time. That leaves Toby to handle their next mark, Sir Henry Blake (Hugh Bonneville), on his own. The esteemed former judge is perfectly commendable on paper, but the cynical Toby is convinced the old-money aristocrat is just good at manicuring his image, and he decides to hit the house anyway. But when he discovers a dark secret hidden away in Blake's basement, he inadvertently places himself and his loved ones in grave danger.

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While this review won't get into what happens next, it's safe to say that Toby was right to be suspicious, but the challenges of taking on someone like Sir Blake are obvious. He is connected in ways that place him above suspicion. He leaves for a game of squash with a police supervisor on the night of Toby's break-in, while the anarchic, 23-year-old tagger barely has pull within his own social circle. Indeed, the web of characters who could stand against Bonneville's villain is fractured. Jay must push Toby away for the sake of his new family; Toby and his psychologist mother, Lizzie (Kelly Macdonald), argue constantly; Naz endures family trouble of her own to stay with Jay, who then risks eroding their relationship by keeping his past exploits a secret. No one but the viewer knows everything at any one moment, and much of the tension comes from the heroes' attempts to act without all the necessary information. And I Came By is not afraid to give those actions some frighteningly serious consequences.

Outside of story, Blake and the nature of his secret signal that the film is about the special form of sinister influence that can only come from someone with his background and status. The Downton Abbey star's casting is designed to keep a certain idea of Englishmen at the front of viewer's minds, so that Anvari can wield it for social commentary. It makes I Came By, in some strange way, an evil twin of 2014's Paddington . The viewer gets to learn about Blake's childhood as the movie progresses, but where other thrillers might use this to explain him and his actions, this one chips away at the story he tells himself. Parenthood is a motif throughout I Came By , and the potential ramifications of an unhealthy parent-child relationship , in particular, crop up in virtually every character's storyline. But the way this manifests in Blake, and how it has shaped the object of his ire, is unique to him — it is the product of his whiteness, his wealth, his hereditary sense of entitlement. However invested it gets in the characters as individuals, the film never lets its viewers forget the real evil is the system, of which Blake is only a twisted manifestation.

However, while there are scenes where its message genuinely comes through, it doesn't land with quite as much impact as one would hope. Here, too, there is a telling textual parallel. There is debate early on about whether Toby and Jay's graffiti-based activism actually makes the difference it intends to. How much value is there, really, in the act of "coming by"? That the movie appears to point to the potential emptiness of its own political gesture is intriguing, perhaps, but it sets that problem aside rather than work it through. The story itself faces a similar issue, as it is so clearly composed with more care than the run-of-the-mill thriller, but it doesn't actually prove much more thrilling. There is genuine risk of an audience less familiar with the genre dismissing I Came By as standard Netflix fare , but even those who pick up on its clever touches will be left wondering why they didn't amount to more.

I Came By began streaming on Netflix Wednesday, August 31. The film is 110 minutes long and is rated TV-MA.

I Came By is a film starring George MacKay and Percelle Ascott that initially follows two graffiti artists who break into wealthy, upper-class homes and tag the phrase "I Came By" in each place they target. When Toby (MacKay) comes home one evening to learn that his girlfriend Naz(Varada Sethu) is carrying their child, Jay abandons his political messaging mission and prepares for life as a father. However, Toby (Ascott) is unwilling to leave this behind, making for former judge Sir Henry Blake's (Hugh Bonneville) home. Unfortunately for Toby, this home hides a deep dark secret that puts his loved ones in jeopardy. With a shrinking group of allies faced with a foe of unparalleled social power, Toby's plight will explore the power of a political statement in a world that can be darker than it seems on the surface. I Came By comes from director Babak Anvari (Under the Shadow, Wounds) and was released on Netflix on August 31 2022.

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