Around three years ago, a film was released that could be described as a class conflict-themed suspense thriller featuring a memorably nice house with a secret basement. That film, of course, was Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, which took the world by storm on its way to winning a historic Academy Award for Best Picture, having already claimed the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It was a universally adored piece of work – praised for its Hitchcockian command of tension and its intelligent, nuanced portrayal of class relations – and is already regarded as something of a classic of 21st-century cinema.
Now, in August 2022, another film is set for release which could also be described as a class conflict-themed suspense thriller featuring a memorably nice house with a secret basement. That film is Netflix’s I Came By, which stars George MacKay, Kelly Macdonald and Hugh Bonneville, and is directed by Under the Shadow’s Babak Anvari. It follows events after graffiti artist Toby (MacKay) breaks into the house of a super-wealthy retired judge (Bonneville) only to uncover a ghastly secret lurking in the basement, one which will put him and those closest to him in a whole lot of danger.
Any similarities between the two films, it should be noted, are entirely coincidental – I Came By has been in development for several years and is based on an idea Anvari first had when he was at film school two decades ago – while the actual plot of Anvari’s film also differs in a number of key ways. But there are a few too many echoes of Parasite not to invite comparisons, and it seems likely that many viewers will find their minds drifting to Bong’s outstanding Oscar-winner at some point during I Came By’s runtime.
The problem is that Parasite has set the bar for this kind of film so high that anything that covers similar ground is likely to suffer when placed alongside it – and it’s hard to escape the fact that I Came By feels a little weak by comparison. For example, the tension in Bong’s film – especially in its outstanding second half – barely lets up for a second, but in Anvari’s film the plot is frequently hampered by numerous time jumps that only serve to disorientate the audience, while there are regular attempts to wrongfoot viewers with major twists and turns that often end up ruining any momentum from building.
Meanwhile, although the social commentary in Parasite was undoubtedly pointed, and its target very clear, the film didn’t fail to address some of the complexities of class relations – with several ambiguities ripe for discussion even after several viewings. I Came By, on the other hand, is so blunt force with its messaging as to become rather inert – we’re dealing with pantomime villains rather than fully formed characters, and it therefore becomes difficult to take anything it has to say all that seriously, even if it is exploring important and relevant topics such as immigration law and the mistreatment of asylum seekers. The dialogue, meanwhile, is often clichéd, melodramatic, and even soapy – a far cry from the wit that flowed through Parasite’s script from beginning to end.
Perhaps it’s a little unfair to compare the films so directly – after all, few films of any genre have equalled Parasite since its release – but placing the two alongside each other does helpfully illustrate why it is that I Came By is unable to truly convince as either a thriller or a piece of social commentary. And so, while the film isn’t entirely without saving graces – MacKay is typically excellent as the rebellious, fidgeting Toby and there’s a certain amount of fun to be had in watching Bonneville embody a cartoonish baddie – it is, unfortunately, something of a misfire.
I Came By will be released in select cinemas on Friday 19th August 2022 and on Netflix on Wednesday 31st August 2022. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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