disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

I CAME BY -- A Good Premise Lost in Poor Execution

8/30/2022

0 Comments

 
Review by Dan Skip Allen
Picture
(L to R) Percelle Ascott as Jay, George MacKay as Toby in I Came By. Credit: Nick Wall/Netflix © 2022.
George MacKay had a good year when 1917 came out. He was riding the wave of all the awards coverage and potential nominations for himself and the film. He hasn't been in many of the most notable film and television projects since then. I Came By is the latest film he's in, but he's not the only established star in the movie, or even the main star, for that matter. Sadly, they are all wasted in this muddled mess of a film.

MacKay's character and his friend (Percelle Ascott) are petty thieves who like to tag their jobs with the moniker "I Came By." While working for a man named Hector Blake (Hugh Bonneville), doing yard work, they notice he's pretty well off, and they set up another score. The problem is Ascott's character wants out because he and his girlfriend are having a child together. He doesn't want this life anymore. He wants to go straight. The MacKay character decides to do the job on his own and finds something disturbing at the man's estate in the cellar.

MacKay's character's mother, played by Kelly MacDonald, notices something is bothering him. He doesn't key her into his situation, instead getting in a fight with her and storming out. What he saw still bothers him, so he goes back to investigate the situation a little more. This wasn't a good decision because the Bonneville character was waiting for him and ambushed him in the cellar. His mother and friend start to get concerned about him after that night he disappeared.
Picture
This film has a vibe of Rear Window mixed with Disturbia. These shady characters have the authorities looking at them, and then they get out of whatever accusations are thrown against them. That's a trope in suspense thrillers like this. The problem is the other two films I mentioned are much better than this one. This film doesn't know what it wants to be, so it's all over the place.

The Bonneville character is set up as a judge who has some sexual proclivities. He's hiding some things from the authorities, and all these people are trying to get him. The filmmaker, Babak Anvari, and writer Namsi Khan didn't set up the story properly. It doesn't justify why people care so much about this man and his secrets. They are the ones in the wrong from my point of view. If they had never tried to rob him, none of the extra activities in the film would have happened. 

This film is based on contrivances to justify why all these characters do what they do, which isn't good from the start. The film doesn't look bad from a cinematography point of view. It's shot very well and has some nice camera angles. The performances are fine even though they are wasted in a ridiculous story from beginning to end. The concept of graffiti taggers robbing houses and using "I Came By" as their moniker was an interesting premise, but it went totally wrong in the end.​

I Came By streams on Netfix beginning August 31.

Rating: 1.5/5
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Dan Skip Allen
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About