‘‘If I don’t have anyone to share anything with then what’s the point of living…’
It’s difficult to tackle the theme of social media when it is so prevalent in society. How to address something that is constantly part of the conversation already? Writer-director Matt Spicer approaches this topic by exploring where it would go if we allowed our worst impulses to take over. Namely obsessions and subterfuge…
While we are all social media detectives in some form or another, recently released mental patient Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) takes this idea to the extreme when she begins cyber stalking the seemingly perfect life of Instagram influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen). Lurking on someone’s account is one thing, stealing their dog and then returning the dog under the pretence of innocently discovering a missing pet is a different beast entirely. Inevitably, when Ingrid digs deeper into Taylor’s life, she discovers that her idyllic marriage to aspiring artist Ezra (Wyatt Russell) is not the airbrushed version of coupledom that they present on social media.
Co-written with David Branson Smith, Spicer’s debut film works as a social commentary about the ills of social media, but it works best as a modern take on yuppie nightmare movies like Single White Female and Fatal Attraction. While it never quite commits to the more heinous aspects of those films, Plaza and Olsen ensure that Ingrid Goes West remains captivating and compelling. Plaza particularly is well suited to playing a desperate obsessive and she imbues Ingrid with both manic delusion and heartwrenching sadness.
While social media is a well-trodden path in the world of film and TV, Ingrid Goes West is entertaining enough to ensure that it stands out in a crowded field – a devilishly effective movie.
