Ingrid Goes West

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.

There is a LOT of weird hate in these reviews for very strange things that kinda aren't even aspects of the movie? Nothing about the shots or scenes appears particularly "cheap" or "cringe", despite what some have said - it looks the same as any other current movie. The bad reviews stink of violated expectations and not much else. You were hoping for some more Parks & Rec or something? This just happens to be a really dark movie about mental illness and isn't maybe as quirky and cutesy as a lot of people were hoping. But review the thing for what it is, not what you were expecting it to be based on seeing one actor's face on the cover. The whole thing was actually really believable and wasn't afraid to get dark and uncomfortable in order to actualize. I was ill-at-ease the whole time, too, but, ah, it's about an unpredictable stalker, so it's kinda supposed to make you feel that way. Not perfect by any means, but I quite admire how dark and honest it is.

Ingrid Goes West is a pleasant surprise of a comedy movie, discussing obsessive personality in the social media-centric age we live in. Plaza's performance as the titular character is outstanding, with Jackson, Olsen, Russell giving great supporting roles that make their slice of Los Angeles feel extremely personal. To top off the experience, the cinematography is vibrant and the plot is a sweet balance between melancholic and hilarious. I recommend the movie to anyone looking for a unique comedy or commentary on social media.

So I've just seen this movie and I can say that it is somehow disturbing and I had an unpleasant feeling during the movie. This is an actual issue these days. I think that the final point of the movie was that it's actually all about that one person that loves you (and in this case: saves you). Important movie. Something has to be done because technology is taking over and it's just not worth it.

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.