'Ingrid Goes West' Review: Surprise hit! Watch out for social media!


Ingrid Goes West is a tour De force, and that is all down to a perfect cast you wouldn't first think to put together; crazy stalker Aubrey Plaza (Ingrid), the not so perfect Elizabeth Olsen (Taylor), and the rather hilarious batman-obsessed O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Dan Pinto).

Ingrid is a social media STALKER who wants to find a best-friend, but not just a best-friend, she wants to become them, wear what they wear, shop where they shop, eat where they eat, and what they eat (wether she likes it or not), she wants to live there life, and this is where Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen) comes in, Ingrid presumes that Taylor has somehow found the secret to living blissfully (through her perfect Insta pics).

While most people likely won't make Ingrid's mistake of assuming that a simple friendly comment on one of her photos means she's actually made a new friend, social media addicts (and who among us isn't at least a little addicted?) will recognize her all-consuming hunger for recognition and validation.

Ingrid is lonely. Ingrid is desperate. But you wouldn't know it from her social media feed, which transmits only shiny, staged photos of a perfect staged life.

What separates this movie from other darkly comic stalker thrillers is that the audience is allowed to see that not only is Ingrid completely unbalanced, but Taylor is a great big phony, propping up a problematic life by performing for her followers. Ingrid's quest for connection is futile but true, where as Taylor's curated persona is empty, her stardom and self-worth illusive.

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