I’m looking forward to seeing Emily the Criminal starring Aubrey Plaza, which should be screening everywhere by the time this is published. Keeping that in mind, I decided to revisit Matt Spicer’s Plaza-starring Ingrid Goes West, a terrific little black comedy and cautionary tale that examines social media through the lens of obsession and mental health. The film also balances some thriller-esque elements with great character work. Being a regular user of social media, I’m a sucker for stories where it’s prominently featured. Plus, it’s the film’s fifth anniversary on August 25th!
Plaza, who also helped produce the movie, is excellent as Ingrid, an obsessive, mentally unstable Instagram user. See, Ingrid fixates on social media celebrities. The beginning of the film finds her stalking one such celebrity to the point where Ingrid shows up to the celebrity’s wedding reception and maces her for the slight of not being invited to the festivities. After spending some time in an institution, she finds a new Instagram star to latch on to, cashes out her inheritance, and hatches a plan to ingratiate herself into the star’s life.
In addition to Plaza’s solid character work, Elizabeth Olsen is somehow not dislikable as the trendy and self-promoting social media darling, Taylor Sloane. O’Shea Jackson Jr provides warmth and humor as the Batman-loving and somewhat naïve screenwriter Dan Pinto. Billy Magnussen steals scenes as Taylor’s brother, an irritatingly hip drug addicted wildcard that blows up Ingrid’s plans. Truly, this is an altogether great young cast.
Spicer’s direction is competent, but he mostly just gets out of the way of his performers and the script. He does a great job of weaving tones together, as the film never feels like it’s exploiting Ingrid’s illness for laughs, though there are laughs to be found. The thriller elements also don’t veer into traditional genre territory, either. They feel more naturalistic, commenting on our well curated cyber lives. If I have one criticism, it’s that the ending doesn’t quite land. However, it’s just one minor discordant note in an otherwise entertaining flick.
Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West looks at our own obsessions through the actions of a disturbed individual. Character work is lively and engaging and the story is effective as a warning about emerging privacy issues on the internet. Funny, uncomfortable, and topical, this is a nice little hidden gem.
Michael Cavender