First off; I needed to watch this movie because of Aubrey Plaza even before I knew what the movie was about. I'm extremely biased because I would literally watch an entire movie with just her doing absolutely nothing. I just love her.
On to the movie. I really enjoyed it. Right of the bat it shows us a very unstable Ingrid who clearly has issues to work through yet I feel for her and that feeling only grows. Does that say something about me? The world we live in? Because this movie shows the brutal reality of how social media can be insanely toxic.
[spoiler] Ingrid becomes sort of this anti-hero due to her backstory (losing her mother or as she puts it 'her best friend' clearly caused deep trauma that sheds light on her actions), the characters she's surrounded herself with (especially Taylor whose toxic behavior only feed trauma that Ingrid is dealing with) and the way she seems to find genuine happiness and acceptance with Dan, struggling to balance that reality with the one she desperately wants with Taylor. [/spoiler]
[spoiler] The ending made me wonder if this turn of events is an actual positive thing for Ingrid. Initially I was happy that she survived and I already guessed things would be 'better' for her after her suicide attempt but then when her phone is handed back to her and she starts scrolling through the messages of love from her new 'fans' I thought that this is probably not better. The minute she wakes she asks for her phone, it's become the source of her troubles, a way to escape after her mother passed. Maybe it would be healthier for her if she had a break from her phone. Now she has all this influence, power if you will and it might create an even more toxic environment for her. [/spoiler]

This film is not what it seems. It's one thing to look at mental health through the lens of stalking social media influencers, but this film goes beyond that into an area that doesn't deserve to be explored in a film of this type. Ingrid is a woman, likely with some type of undiagnosed attachment disorder, who stalks social media influencers by ingratiating herself into their lives. She attempts to make herself appear as if her life is fuller than it actually is, and she does so through duplicitous methods. For instance, [spoiler]she tells her newfound friends that she has a boyfriend, and she sleeps with her landlord in order to get him to pose as such for her.[/spoiler] It could be argued that this action fits with the narrative of the film by being symptomatic of her disorder. Fair enough.

However, she does other things that have nothing to do w/ her disorder that make her an awful human being. In one instance, [spoiler]she borrowed the truck of her landlord, and violated the agreement she had to return it, b/c she was having fun w/ a new friend. Later, she wrecked the truck, and when she finally brought it back, she had cost her landlord his ability to meet a responsibility, and she offered no accountability. She tried to pretend that it wasn't a big deal and not something she should be bothered w/. Later in the film, it's indicated that the damage was $8000, and again, she attempted to play it off. She later outrights steals the truck, which, again, could be seen as something related to her disorder.[spoiler/]

Those who engage in this type of behavior are dangerous. I felt that they focused so much on the mental health-related aspects of her behavior, they overlooked what a terrible human being they actually made her aside from that.

I'm super uncomfortable in a really good way.

_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._

**Ingrid of Instagram!**

The film was decent, but was not my kind. I mean I've given up using the useless social media a long time ago and I'm happy the film highlighted the evil side of such platform. I liked the casting. The combinations were good. Particularly, I think Oshea Jackson should do more films. He could be the next big name.

It was about the social network, revolved around Instagram platform. It's all about getting popular in the virtual world. And people are ready to do anything for that. One such incident based film is this. A young woman who lost all her friends and ended up in an asylum for a breakdown is now preparing to start afresh. So heads west, Los Angeles, and makes a friend with one of the popular Instagram stars. But the path she chooses was not conventional. She knows the consequences, yet she goes on with it, but when it all comes to that point, what happens to her was revealed at the end.

As I said, it is not for everyone. It is for the young generation, particularly any generation who uses or addicted to social media. The story was not fresh enough. We've seen similar tale with a different perspective and platform. Then the result of the tale is all same. The message was good, but I don't think that was the intention of making it. Overall, good for once watching.

_6/10_

_Ingrid Goes West_ is a hilarious dark satyr on the modern day relationship with social media and societal validation. Aubrey Plaza is fantastic, like she always is, and her comedic timing is brilliant here. So many lines she delivered had me cracking up. Her relationship with Elizabeth Olsen is great as well. The unlikely friendship between the two of them felt genuine and real, which really lent itself to create an impact during the more emotional moments of the film. Overall, I thought story was pretty great. There are so many aspects that audiences can resonate with while still feeling organic. I never felt like I was being hit over the head with metaphors, they were delivered naturally. This is rare film where the main character is hard to root for. She really only cares about herself and deserves pretty much everything that is coming to her but there is a sense of empathy the audience has with her. This movie shows the deterioration of her mental and even though externally she is the worst person imaginable, deep down she is doing for acceptance. It is raw and real, and sometimes incredibly hard to watch, which is what comes to fruition at the climax of the film.

**Score:** _84%_ |
**Verdict:** _Great_