INGRID GOES WEST : THE WORLD OF SOCIAL MEDIA TAKES A HIT

As fatuous as a Facebook page and the intellectual and emotional weight of an Instagram, the addiction and mental decay attributed to the servility of cyberspace is an insidious problem even with so-called normal people.

Saddled to a sufferer of mental illness, it becomes a singularly sinister cyber stalking issue, the subject of Matt Spicer’s feature film debut, INGRID GOES WEST.

Aubrey Plaza plays Ingrid Thorburn, a thorn in the side, pain in the arse, unhinged social media stalker with a history of confusing “likes” for meaningful relationships.

Taylor Sloane, played by the always interesting Elizabeth Olsen, is an Instagram-famous “influencer” whose perfectly curated, boho-chic lifestyle becomes Ingrid’s latest obsession. When Ingrid moves to LA and manages to insinuate herself into the social media star’s life, their relationship quickly goes from #BFF to #WTF.

Spicer sails perilously close to the coast of audience alienation by pretty much populating his picture with unlikable, utterly irritating people. The sole survivor of salvaging any self esteem is Dan Pinto, Ingrid’s landlord and manipulated fuck buddy.

Spicer and co-writer, David Branson Smith, message is clear – only when you display the real you to the world is when the real world will respond to you.

Winner of the Waldo Salt Screen-writing Award at Sundance, INGRID GOES WEST is a savage, seriously squirmy, sometimes hilarious dark comedy that satirises the modern world of social media and proves that being #perfect isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.