Film Review: I Came By is an intriguing thriller

Kelly Macdonald as Lizzie in I Came By

• I Came By
• ★★★☆☆

I Came By (15A) stars George Mackay and Percelle Ascot as London-based activists Toby and Jay, who break into the homes of the rich and powerful not to steal but to leave their graffiti tag of ‘I Came By’ – this to ‘haunt the rich’ by reminding them that they are not untouchable. 

But when Toby breaks into a house owned by retired judge Hector Blake (Hugh Bonneville), he quickly suspects that Blake is a man with sinister secrets who will stop at nothing to protect his good name … Written by Babak Anvari and Namsi Khan, with Anvari directing, I Came By is an intriguing thriller that delivers a number of unexpected twists, chief among them the cuddly, avuncular Hugh Bonneville successfully playing against type as a chilling manipulator – or is that persona, in fact, simply a product of Toby’s paranoid imaginings? 

That Hector Blake’s character and motivations aren’t fully worked out by the end of the story is the one misstep Anvari makes here; otherwise, he draws fine performances from Bonneville, Mackay and Ascot, and also Kelly Macdonald (playing Toby’s mother), all of which results in a taut, thoughtful thriller that keeps the audience second-guessing to the end. (Netflix)