Ingrid Goes West

Ingrid Goes West is a 2017 American black comedy drama film directed by Matt Spicer and written by Spicer and David Branson Smith. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, Billy Magnussen, Wyatt Russell, Pom Klementieff, and O'Shea Jackson Jr., and follows a young woman who moves to Los Angeles in an effort to befriend her Instagram idol. Spicer and Smith developed the idea for the screenplay based on their experiences with the social media platform Instagram, particularly the role of influencers and how social media can breed feelings of social comparison and loneliness. Filming took place in the Los Angeles area from July to August of 2016. The film premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. It had a limited release in the United States on August 11, 2017, by Neon, grossing $3 million. The film received positive reviews, with many praising the script, dark themes, humor, and performances. Plot Ingrid Thorburn, a mentally unstable young woman in Pennsylvania, is shown crashing the wedding of an Instagram influencer named Charlotte, whom she angrily pepper sprays. Ingrid is sent to a recovery facility where she "writes" to Charlotte as if they are friends, when in reality, Charlotte only commented on one of Ingrid’s pictures once. After being released from the facility, Ingrid learns of another social media influencer named Taylor Sloane from a magazine article. Using money she inherited from her recently deceased mother, Ingrid travels to Los Angeles. She ends up renting a house in Venice from Dan Pinto, an aspiring screenwriter, and gets a makeover to emulate Taylor’s style.