In Babak Anvari’s latest crime-thriller, “I Came By,” two rebel-minded graffiti writers who consider themselves the “New Generation Robin Hood” break into a rich man’s house like mobsters. These two graffiti artists, Toby and Jay, protest against capitalism in an innovative and rebellious manner. They break into the homes of powerful people, scrawling the titular graffiti tags on their precious walls, which only inflames the arrogance of the upper class, giving them a message that they are not invincible. But in one such wealthy ex-judge, Hector Blake’s house, Toby finds something unusual that he cannot neglect at all.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Toby’s Idealism Fail Him To Thrive?
Toby is a stubborn, turbulent, and misogynistic young man whose relationship with his mother, Lizzie, is strained. Toby is not attracted to any external influence except his anti-establishment revolutionary idealism. He protests in a partially non-violent way by breaking into rich people’s homes and painting graffiti on their walls, which in turn hurts the conscience of other graffiti artists. When Toby sets out to dust off Hector Blake’s so-called sainthood, his only friend, Jay, backs out. Having the least importance to the concept of family, Toby forces Jay to join him in his pointless protest. But Jay is forced to back off, thinking about his pregnant girlfriend, Naz, and the future of his child. Toby is determined to break into Blake’s room all alone. Toby is revolted, but his motives are unclear to the viewers. For the sake of the story, Toby is right to point out the upper-class rich people, but he doesn’t want to understand the boundaries. Instead, the screams of revolution are echoing in his head like a death metal frenzy. While inside the house, he ignores his mother’s struggle, leaving his mess to his mother to clean up. With utmost disgrace towards his mother, he leaves his home like an obtrusive man-child. However, Hector “Saint” Blake, a cold-blooded psycho killer, turns out to be Toby’s endgame. When Toby breaks into Hector’s room as per his plan, he sees a photo of a bloody-faced boy in his study. Toby’s brow furrows, but he clears up the whole thing in a moment when he peeks into a red door in Hector’s basement. He sees something appalling that startles him, realizing that Blake’s sanctity is just a joke. Toby is freed by Hector on this journey, but the next day he anonymously informs the police about him, although Hector gets away with his connection with the commissioner. So Toby has to break into his home the next night to catch him by himself, which leads to him facing his impending death.
The aimless protest of Toby that he had been performing for so long, he sees fit to bring this last fight to a successful conclusion. He sets out to rescue a tortured young man from Hector’s basement, but is interrupted by Hector’s arrival. Toby makes one last attempt to injure Hector with a hammer but falls awkwardly at his feet, thereby leading Hector to kill him.
How Did Jay Accomplish Their Goal Despite Backing Off At First?
Toby’s story ends here, but his halting protest, which one day Jay backs away from, eventually leads him to succeed in that mission. When Lizzie, desperate for her son, seeks the help of the law after Toby’s disappearance, Jay reluctantly helps her. Jay’s pregnant lover, Naz, a law school student, is ostracized by her orthodox Indian family upon hearing about her pregnancy. Jay stays by her side through all these hardships. He, despite being a partner in Toby’s rebel activities, wanted to be a family man. The importance of his family to him becomes more precious to him than his friendship. So while Toby repeatedly asks for a helping hand, Jay turns him away. But at Toby’s peril, he suspects Hector Blake has something to do with it. He leaves a letter from Blake’s letter box in Toby’s cupboard so that Lizzie can report Hector to the police. Jay took such a long haul because, being a black man and having multiple prior charges against him, he believes the police won’t listen to him the way they might listen to Lizzie. So Jay’s decision to expose Hector takes a detour. Although it doesn’t help that much.
Jay pushes away all imminent danger to protect his family. Meanwhile, Naz has already given birth to her child. But bereaved Lizzie, knowing that she will get no help from the law, selfishly forces Jay to go to Hector Blake’s mansion to rescue Toby, which Jay naturally refuses to do. But Lizzie’s sloppy investigation also makes her a victim of Hector’s death game. Meanwhile, as Jay is unable to communicate with Naz about everything happening in his life, Naz leaves him. Now Jay feels a bit of guilt for giving up on Toby, which prompts him to exact his true revenge on Hector. Naz informs him about Hector’s presence at his former school’s Tercentenary event, which leads Jay to follow him from there. Finally, Jay breaks into a sleeping Hector’s room in the middle of the night, and while a big commotion starts between them, Jay defeats him in a fight, handing him over to the police. Jay doesn’t stop even after realizing Toby’s and Lizzie’s deaths. Instead, he rescues another victim trapped in the basement. Blake is found tied up by the police, with the infamous graffiti scrawled on the wall of his study room that says “I Came By.”
How Did Toby And Jay Possess Two Different Psychologies?
From the beginning, Jay and Toby were two polar opposites. The two meet in search of a new world where they can defeat deep pockets. But unfortunately, they lack a properly sketched plan and the specific goals behind their activities. Jay finds his family more relevant than Toby’s clueless invasion of wealthy people’s houses, while Toby is always alienated from everything except his wealthy eviction ideas. So, his poorly built plan to expose the sins of St. Blake leads him to die in the end. Whereas eventually, we see patience and sagacity in Jay. He informs the police in advance of attacking Hector and ultimately saves an innocent man from death. So, while the plot of the movie is still confusing and undeveloped, Toby’s aimless protest is at least fulfilled by Jay’s bringing a demonic “moneybag” into the hands of the law.
See More: ‘I Came By’ Ending, Explained: Why Does Sir Hector Blake Kill? Does Jay Save Toby And Lizzie?
