A touchingly dark portrayal of social-media addiction in our increasingly digital modern world, Ingrid Goes West is the 2017 satire that this world truly deserves – even if it’s hard to watch at times.
We all know a Taylor in our lives: a social media-loving socialite with so many followers that they can’t tell where their friends start and their likes end. Unfortunately for Taylor, Ingrid doesn’t have a Taylor in her life – so– so she’s the only Taylor she’s got.
Aubrey Plaza (Park and Recreation, Legion) is Ingrid Thorburn, a crazed stalker who’s more intent on surfing Instagram than hiding in bushes outside someone’s home. Mentally unstable, Ingrid finds herself lost as her unrequited best friend doesn’t invite her to her wedding – prompting Ingrid to pepper spray the wife to be. She’s able to fill this hole in her life when she discovers Instagram-influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olson). Her new-found obsession with Taylor causes her to use her inheritance from her recently-passed mother to move from Pennsylvania to LA – starting her new life by the beach in sunny California.
As you may expect, things manage to go from #blessed to #messed as Ingrid inserts herself into Taylor’s life, resulting in complications all-round. While many may be distracted by the heavy influence of social media throughout the film, deeper than the hashtags and the selfies is a sobering look at web culture in contemporary society. Despite its seemingly bizarre premise, the events of Ingrid Goes West don’t seem too far from what actually happens online today.
While most may not be able to relate to her, Aubrey Plaza gives a stunning performance as Ingrid, the sympathetic, tortured soul driven to the brink of insanity from something most of us can’t live without – her phone. Accompanied by great performances from Olson (Wind River, Avengers: Age of Ultron) and supporting cast members O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton) and Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), the film looks at some of modern societies greatest flaws – and that’s not just vaping.
Perhaps the film’s greatest shortcoming is the accuracy in which it portrays some of 2017’s less-than-desirable features, with the upper class, west coast lifestyle presented enough to make anyone outside of it cringe just a little bit. Aside from this knee-jerk reaction to the films characters and setting, the soundtrack, cinematography and portrayal of social media on-screen tie together nicely to make an all-round well-made modern film.
By all accounts a dark, twisted story of love, loss and tragedy in LA, Ingrid Goes West may not be your first choice for a casual movie night, but it will surely be one you won’t regret.
