Ingrid Goes West - Review

Ingrid Goes West

Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) is an unhinged social media stalker with a history of confusing "likes" for meaningful relationships. Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen who is also in “Wind River”) is an Instagram-famous "influencer" who’s perfectly curated, boho-chic lifestyle becomes Ingrid's latest obsession. When Ingrid moves to LA and manages to insinuate herself into the social media star's life, their relationship quickly goes from #BFF to #WTF. Built around a brilliantly disarming performance from Aubrey Plaza, Ingrid Goes West (winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance) is a savagely hilarious dark comedy that satirizes the modern world of social media and proves that being #perfect isn't all it's cracked up to be.

REVIEW:  “Ingrid Goes West” (a username in the film) is as sharp, smart, insightful, dark and funny, light and dramatic, sinister and haunting, warm and nurturing films I have seen this year.  Aubrey Plaza is both flawless and brilliant in her acting as the socially out of touch Ingrid who while watching the film you feel a range of emotions for her Ingrid that ranges from being someone who you genuinely want to get some professional counseling to someone who you find is funny, charming, sexy, clever, calculating and repulsive to eventually being someone who is downright Bat Shit Crazy as hell. But the real magic of this film is the writing in how it keeps you thoroughly engaged into the lead character Ingrid that you really kind of root for her even though she is so easy to dislike. Subconsciously, the film masterfully draws you in and keeps you there into really wanting Ingrid to be just happy in spite of some of the horribly desperate things she does to others and to herself.

“Ingrid Goes West” is a brilliant satirical look at the way some millennials today rely way too much on social media as their sole determinant into their own self-worth, rather than taking the plunge the old fashion way of randomly meeting people (bars, church, school and or parties) and engaging one another in ad hoc conversations; walking the tightrope of fate of being rejected face to face by someone rather than through an Instagram or a text.  

Filled with the same wit, vivid depictions, biting comedy, drama and attitude as HBO's "Girls", I found “Ingrid Goes West” to be one of the best films out this year about real people. I encourage everyone to see in either their local theater, NETFLIX, Amazon, Redbox and or On Demand venues.

3.75 Stars