Ingrid Goes West (2017) Reviews

• Brutal and uncomfortable

  kallevarvas2017-10-29

  Dark comedy with Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen? Sign me in. But what I got, was definitely not a comedy. There are some laughs in this film, but mostly it's a heavy drama about unbalanced, desperate people. And a very well made one. 'Ingrid Goes West' is so real, so brutal, that it makes the audience uncomfortable, but you still can't look away. This is what the world of social media is when taken to extreme. It's reality for thousands of people, if not for millions. Sad, yet important and powerful, look at our society today.

• More than you would expect

  Lugo19892017-10-28

  The plot line and comedy/drama categorisation do not reveal much when it comes to this film. It is a good thing since it offers more than you would hope for. I would say it is more of a drama than a comedy, there are some quite serious issues covered in this story. Aubrey Plaza is great as Ingrid, she managed to find a nice balance between being unhinged, vulnerable, obsessed and yet her familiar facial expressions will sometimes still make you laugh. I believe that the obsession with social media was portrayed nicely here, I am sure you all know or knew someone who is practically glued to their phone and can't imagine lasting a day without it. Instagram, Facebook and other media can really make a person feel a bit depressed since everyone seems happy all the time, they eat at nice restaurants, travel to nice places, go to great parties where in reality it is all a bit phony which is another thing that this film shows. There are not many people who would post something sad because they are having a bad day or are going through a rough patch, the fear of being judged is always present and it would break the balance of everything being seemingly perfect with everyone. If you combine that with a troubled personality or a mental illness, the results can be pretty bad. And that basically describes Ingrid. It is a solid indie film with good performances and something to think about.

• Quite viewable semi-black comedy about social media

  pedrokolari2017-11-02

  I wonder at some of the savage reviews this film got on IMDb. It is no candidate for an Oscar but it is a pretty adequate description of the social media scene, has a reasonably ingenious script and is well acted. I describe it as a semi-black comedy because, very appropriately in an environment where nothing es what it appears to be, it is funny but not totally funny, a little tragic but not as much as it could be. Worth spending a while looking at it.

• Dark Comedy doesn't promise a 50/50 balance.

  hyperactiveturner2018-01-05

  This film's portrayal of obsession and social media taking over modern lives and interests is spot on, and overall it's thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. Just know what you're getting in to! Too many of the lower reviews are complaints that the film was too dark and not funny enough - this shouldn't reflect on the overall score. The writers had a point to make and they made it well while creating something that is entertaining even at it's saddest moments. It's a far more powerful movie than a lot of people seem to expect but that's not a bad thing. And don't even get me started on the people taking the comedy as some sort of twisted justification for the darker aspects, this film is not at all defending online obsessions or humouring the idea that online attention is important at all. It's simply shown to us from Ingrid's (well-established) sick mind. If the premise interests you at all then it's a safe bet you'll enjoy the film, just don't expect a light afternoon comedy based on a dark concept, it is very much a miserably solid display of that dark concept with comedic aspects lining the fabric.

• A scathing dissection of social media

  bbewnylorac2017-11-03

  I switched off my iPhone to watch Ingrid Goes West, and at the end I didn't want to switch it back on. Sure, central character Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) is a psychopath - stalking and manipulating her social media idols until they befriend her, and then causing mass destruction for everyone involved. But she also evokes some sympathy, as a lost and lonely girl, with a poor grasp on reality, who happily clings to Instagram as her only source of love. Her target, blonde California instagram It-girl Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), is a shallow shell of a girl who has no concept that her breezy internet money making project - posting photos of her sunny, product-heavy life and chatting online to a stream of fake intimate friends - has any consequences in the real world. It's a cardboard cut-out of a world, but to a smitten Ingrid, Taylor is the perfect person. After Ingrid steals Taylor's dog to get the credit for its return, Taylor quickly and unwisely accepts Ingrid as her new BFF. From there, it's a black comedy of errors as Ingrid tries desperately to cling on to Taylor's ultra cool, partying clique, while hiding her rotten soul and her true identity. Ingrid proves willing to assault and lie to anything and everyone in her way. The most poignant victim is her sweet boyfriend Dan (Jackson O'Shea), who is much too trusting and giving to deserve her. She almost destroys him, but like a puppy he sticks with her. The movie's ending is daring and very disturbing, but I thought it makes sense. I laughed, despite the horror. It perfectly summarises the possible dangers of social media, in that creating fake versions of ourselves, and friending hordes of dodgy strangers - or in Ingrid's case, mistaking social media connection for real friendship - can be intoxicating, but also as toxic as rat poison. In the end, Ingrid vows to 'be herself' in future. But that realisation comes without any solid guidance or human support, and having no other aspirations, she's sucked In to playing yet another online obsessive - the victim seeking sympathy. No doubt generating her own deluded stalkers. Her phone is still a menacing weapon of mass destruction. The cycle starts again. I almost screamed - it was like the ending in Notes on a Scandal, where Judi Dench casually latches on to her next victim, like a tiger stalking its prey.