Ingrid Goes West is a compelling story of life in the age of Instagram

REVIEW: The story of a lonely girl who obsesses over the perfect life of an Insta-celebrity makes Ingrid Goes West uncomfortable but compelling viewing.

INGRID Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) must have been a social misfit even before her mother died.

But now that she’s lost her “best friend” to cancer, the isolated underachiever has become positively unhinged.

Desperately lonely, Ingrid trawls social media, living vicariously through the posts of other women whose lives are clearly more exciting than her own.

While her behaviour has obvious parallels with that of her better-adjusted peers — and that’s partly what makes this film so uncomfortable — Ingrid’s boundaries are dangerously blurred.

Self-projection is one thing, mistaking a fleeting social media interaction for real friendship is something else altogether.

After an unfortunate incident in her hometown, Ingrid becomes fixated on Californian Insta-girl Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), whose perfectly chic boho-chic lifestyle has earned her millions of followers.

On a whim, Ingrid heads west to LA, using her small inheritance to reinvent herself in a manner that is more Single White Female than Eliza Doolittle or even Miley Cyrus.

Elizabeth Olsen and Aubrey Plaza in Ingrid Goes West.

Obsessively monitoring Taylor’s Instagram posts, she stakes out the woman’s favourite cafes and shopping haunts.

While Ingrid’s awkward stalking is excruciating to witness, it’s also hard to turn away. And that’s largely down to Plaza’s beautifully observed performance.

Although we watch on in horror when Ingrid crosses the line — kidnapping Taylor’s dog, for example — there’s no inclination to judge her.

Plaza (and first-time feature director Matt Spicer) don’t allow their audience that level of detachment.

Part of the uneasiness we experience in watching a real-world friendship develop between the two women can be attributed to the fact that we know it can’t last.

Ingrid might be a certifiable mess, but we still wind up rooting for her.

When the situation unravels, so does she.

The only decent human being in the film is Ingrid’s neighbour and landlord Dan Pinto (Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr).

The budding screenwriter and Batman fan genuinely likes his tenant. She has a different ring to her, he says.

The guy might be a bit too good to be true, but in a world as bleak as the one Ingrid inhabits, there needs to be some glimmer of hope.

Ingrid Goes West is now screening (opens October 26)

INGRID GOES WEST (MA15+)

Director: Matt Spicer

Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr

Running time 98 minutes

Four stars

Verdict: Social media’s Single White Female

Originally published as Ingrid Goes West is a compelling story of life in the age of Instagram