Special Exhibit: INGRID GOES WEST

Year: 2017

Duration: 97 minutes

Where to watch: Amazon Prime.

 

Nobody plays crazy like Aubrey Plaza. In fact, one could make the case that she’s not even acting it out anymore: it’s just her real-life persona by now, at least publicly.

Ingrid Goes West is directed by Matt Spicer in his feature film debut. I was already familiar with his dark humor through the amazing short film It’s Not You, It’s Me, featuring Gillian Jacobs, which you can and should watch for free here.

Ingrid is not violent, but equally well-written and performed. Plaza stars as the titular Ingrid, a very unhinged woman with no real friends who instead spends her time stalking people online. After a stint in a mental hospital due to attacking the wedding of one such virtual “friend”, Ingrid centers her attention on Instagram influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen).

Taylor’s life is perfect, as far as her Instagram account shows, and she responds to one of Ingrid’s post, prompting the disturbed girl to obsess over their “friendship”.

Using inherited money, Ingrid travels to L.A. to force Taylor into an actual relationship, which she achieves through deception and dog-kidnapping. Of course, the lies start to snowball in a fashion that’s both amusing and cringy.

The secondary characters are all very funny too, and are played by Wyatt Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Billy Magnussen and Pom Klementieff.

Hilarity aside, what makes this comedy so great is its well-timed social commentary on the artificiality of social media and social alienation, thanks to its treatment of its two leading characters. Ingrid hurts people trough her actions, but we can also empathize with her depression and loneliness. Taylor might be a bit conceited, but we understand she’s a real person underneath all the Insta-glitter.