We Had It Coming

Directed by Paul Barbeau, We Had It Coming follows Natalie Krill’s Anna as she embarks on a campaign of revenge against the pimp responsible for her sister’s suicide. Filmmaker Barbeau, working from his own screenplay, delivers an excessively deliberate drama that remains, for the bulk of its padded-out 85 minutes, completely (and aggressively) unable to capture the viewer’s attention (even partially), as the movie’s meandering atmosphere is compounded by a continuing emphasis on long, dialogue-free stretches wherein characters travel from one location to the next – with the ensuing lack of forward momentum paving the way for a midsection that couldn’t possibly be less compelling (and more inconsequential). And although the picture admittedly does contain handsome visuals and a small peppering of engaging touches, including Barbeau’s intriguing decision to obscure said pimp’s face throughout, We Had It Coming‘s absence of engaging, sympathetic protagonists (ie they’re all just so closed-off) makes it almost impossible to work up any real interest in or enthusiasm for their uniformly low-key exploits – which ensures that the whole thing has alienated the viewer to an astonishing degree long before the laughably anticlimactic and unsatisfying conclusion rolls around. The end result is a misbegotten misfire that works as neither a stirring revenge thriller nor a subdued character study, with the film, by and large, boasting the feel of a passable short that’s been awkwardly and disastrously expanded to feature length.

* out of ****