Review of Ingrid Goes West (2017) by Greatmartin — 29 Aug 2017

Just as I won’t stop reading a book no matter how bad it may be I find it almost impossible to walk out of a movie theatre until the end credits start. I watched “Ingrid Goes West” for 90 boring, never-ending, slow dragging minutes wanting to walk out though I was sort of taken with Aubrey Plaza’s performance in the title role but the last 7 minutes made me glad I stayed as not only did her performance reach an even higher level but the whole picture crystallized into what the screenplay writers Matt Spicer, who also directed, and David Branson Smith wanted.

Up to that ninetieth minute, the film seemed to be aimed at the current generation and their total involvement with smartphones, Instagram, social media, mores, manners, and comments. We meet Ingrid, after time in a psychiatric hospital, whose mother just died leaving her $65,000. Ingrid is basically a cyber stalker and becomes intrigued with Taylor Sloane (played by Elizabeth Olsen) who is famous for having thousands of followers on her Instagram account and becomes even more famous shilling products.

Ingrid takes her bag of money, leaves Pennsylvania and takes off for Los Angeles, rents a house from Dan (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.) a screenwriter who is obsessed with Batman and is writing a film, so he believes the next Batman film. After concocting a plan to meet Taylor she becomes her BFF and insinuates herself with Taylor’s husband, Ezra (Wyatt Russell) who claims to be an artist of some sort. Then enters what is to become Ingrid’s nemesis, Taylor’s brother Nicky (Billy Magnussen) an amoral coke addict and alcoholic who is very aware he is a muscle gym guy without any inhibitions.

While we know Ingrid can be and has been violent in the past and we see her in all sorts of moods from feeling ecstatic to a deep sadness there is that sense of craziness about her that will come to the forefront, along with the violence.

The screenplay and the characters are all over the place and there are constant shots of smart-phones with Snapshots and Instagram lines but the focus is on Ingrid and her acts in the last 7 minutes show who she really is and makes up for a lot of scenes that don’t make sense or are just fillers for the film.