Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Ingrid Goes West may prove to be the King of Comedy of the millennial generation. It is a charring and incisive black comedy that smartly uses social media as a means to explore the darker side of human nature – obsession. Anchored by a savagely funny script and a pitch-perfect performance by Aubrey Plaza, Ingrid Goes West is the deviously wicked, unflinchingly bitter, infinitely quotable knockout comedy that at least this writer has been waiting for all year.

Ingrid Goes West follows an unhinged and frighteningly relatable social media stalker (Plaza) who finds a new obsession in the form of Instagram photographer and personality Taylor Sloane (Olsen). When Taylor likes one of her comments, Ingrid decides to cash what's left of her inheritance for a move to California. From there she insinuates herself into Taylor's life; trying desperately to assimilate to her new, chic So-Cal lifestyle while refusing the advances of her good-natured landlord Dan (Jackson).

The inner torment that plagues Ingrid has an everlasting presence. You can see it in her eyes, her mannerisms, the way she obsesses and thrusts herself through the plot. She remains for the most part, an enigma but not the kind you can find intriguing or sexy. She's more like a void; desperate to distract herself from whom she really is with imagined perfect lives and even more perfect photo filters. To the brilliantly vulnerable Dan, she's suspicious; to the vapid Taylor she becomes a monster. Who is she really? She may not even know.

Yet she's not exactly the epitome of an anti-social obsessive. She displays genuine emotional intelligence; even while getting caught up in her own whirlwind of manipulations. Her relationship with Dan provides a glimpse into what she's really about as well as affirmation that she wouldn't stop even if she wanted to. She's less Travis Bickle and more Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven (1945), hopelessly looking for love in all the wrong places; not a sociopath but a histrionic.

The satire of Ingrid Goes West has become a bit of a fault line between audiences, critics and critics of a certain age. Those inclined to think scrolling through your phone is an anti-social pastime are liable to think Ingrid Goes West pulls its punches. Ben Kenigsberg of the New York Times wrote the movie "comes close to saying something sharpÂ…but ultimately cops out in the end." Similarly Rex Reed muses Ingrid Goes West "looks more like a tweet than a movie".

I'd argue if you take away the trappings of modern technology Ingrid wouldn't cease to be, she'd simply latch onto and unhealthily exploit some other escape such as: radio (Play Misty for Me), books (Misery) or TV (King of Comedy). Sure it'd lack contemporary immediacy and older audiences wouldn't get that extra dopamine fix of laughing at "those stupid kids and their devices," but the painfully human insights would still be very much there.

Thus as much as some would like Ingrid Goes West to be a savage takedown of hashtags, Insta-fame and avocado toast, it'd be more accurate to call it a lampooning of human behavior. It aims its sights at the insidiousness of exclusion, and how the need for validation can turn toxic. Additionally it holds up a mirror not just on us in a general sense but holds it up to you and dares you to look into the void. In the case of this movie the void looks like Aubrey Plaza. I suppose there are worse things in the world.

Fmovies: While this movie might end up looking obsolete in a few years depending on where technology goes, sociologically, it's damn on point and prescient. Not so much funny as dark and disturbing, it did a good job of showing how empty everyone was, even the so-called "heroes." The ending was a nice touch as well.

So I've just seen this movie and I can say that it is somehow disturbing and I had an unpleasant feeling during the movie. This is an actual issue these days. I think that the final point of the movie was that it's actually all about that one person that loves you (and in this case: saves you). Important movie. Something has to be done because technology is taking over and it's just not worth it.

Ingrid Goes West fmovies. Aubrey Plaza is *always* fun to watch. It seems as if she can pull off any role thrown at her. The trailer for Ingrid Goes West looks like a comedy, but this film is deep.

In a genius writing move, Ingrid is given almost no backstory, because it doesn't matter. She's as much a force as she is a person. Calculating, manipulative, expertly building an Instagram brand by leeching off a popular grammer, she represents all that is obsessive and voyeuristic about social media, taken to a toxic, narcissistic extreme. And, everyone is to blame except the lovable Dan, who is perhaps the most sympathetic character of all.

The film is engaging all the way through as Ingrid rises, then falls, then explodes, then rises again, all of it fueled by her desperate need for validation by association. The story plays like a long metaphor, a morality play examining the social media phenomenon from several angles with power and a deftness that lands it's blows softly and unexpectedly.

I highly recommend this film!

Ingrid Goes West is a pleasant surprise of a comedy movie, discussing obsessive personality in the social media-centric age we live in. Plaza's performance as the titular character is outstanding, with Jackson, Olsen, Russell giving great supporting roles that make their slice of Los Angeles feel extremely personal. To top off the experience, the cinematography is vibrant and the plot is a sweet balance between melancholic and hilarious. I recommend the movie to anyone looking for a unique comedy or commentary on social media.

Aubrey Plaza has a knack for choosing the right small, just off the radar indie projects. In the past, she starred in overlooked gems such as, The To Do List, Safety Not Guaranteed and The Little Hours, which came out earlier this year. Ingrid Goes West is her most recent indie gem, and perhaps her best.

Ingrid Goes West features Plaza as Ingrid (duh!), who has some ummÂ… let's call them social issues. She equates passing interactions on social media as meaningful friendships. These virtual relationships quickly turn into real obsessions.

Her latest target is a California Insta-girl named Taylor (played by Elizabeth Olsen, whose stock is rising rapidly of late), who responded to one of Ingrid's carefully thought out comments on her latest food photo. Taylor's winking advice to "check it out next time you're in LA" is all the incentive Ingrid needs. She grabs her backpack full of newly-received cash (no spoilers on how she got the money) and headed west to spy on Taylor/become friends with Taylor.

Through some mild stalking and other questionable behavior, Ingrid becomes fast friends with Taylor. Desperate to win and retain Taylor's affection through any means necessary, Ingrid takes advantage of her overly trusting landlord/next-door neighbor and Batman superfan, Dan (played by O'Shea Jackson Jr. who is about one more praiseworthy performance away from breaking free from people calling him "Ice Cube's son" and just calling him O'Shea Jackson Jr.) At first, Ingrid pays little attention to Dan unless she needs something from him. But he soon shows her that he's the only one that truly likes her for who she really is. It's the most heartfelt moment in a movie that often hides behind its humor.

Of course, with Ingrid things cannot remain rosy for long. She's a tornado of dysfunction and terrible decision making. Her dream world unravels and in the end the audience is faced with a rather confusing message about the value and dangers of social media.

The movie's stars make everything work. Give credit to first-time director Matt Spicer too, but it's hard to imagine pulling off this level of emotional vacillation with any other group of actors.

Especially in the opening 20 minutes or so, each passing moment evokes a new emotion so rapidly and seemingly randomly that it's almost as if Spicer was tossing dice and choosing a different emotion based on the roll. We dart between heartbreaking, heartwarming, hilarious, and shakily anxious. This is not a comfortable viewing experience.

We catch of glimpse of Ingrid's humanity early on and she remains empathetic throughout despite behaving in mostly distasteful ways. Plaza deserves commendation for her performance, which is both nuanced and unhinged.

Ultimately, Dan reigns as the most likable character, even if he may be the most naïve. In a story of full of phonies, he always stays true to himself. That has got to count for something.