By early July 2016, Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Billy Magnussen, and Pom Klementieff were cast in a black comedy-drama to be directed by Spicer, and co-written by Spicer and Smith. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in early August. Filming took place throughout California.
The film stars Plaza, Olsen, Jackson Jr., Russell, Magnussen, and Klementieff. The film is a fascinating dark-comedy drama thanks to the performances given by the cast, especially Plaza as the psycho, social media influencer wannabe, and Olsen giving great performance as the perfectly preserved boho-chic Instagram influencer. Plaza gleefully rubs our nose in the excruciating experience of watching someone who thinks they're funny flail helplessly, but the movie's one undisputed triumph is Olsen's performance as Instagram influencer Taylor Sloane. There's something epic in the confrontation between Plaza and Olsen.
Possibly overlooked and misunderstood upon its release, Ingrid Goes West today looks eerily prescient, and features a fine performance by Plaza as a strangely sympathetic psychopath. If there was any doubt that Plaza is the greatest and most unsettling actor in movies today and Spicer most adept at bringing out his genius, then the film should dispel it. As we see how Ingrid's pursuit of success is going to turn out, the film becomes an easy little fable of our terrible romance with fame. An early cautionary tale from Spicer about the desperation amongst common people to achieve fame and the obsession with celebrity culture. Clearly, it's more relevant than ever right now. Spicer infuses this tale with the passionate energy of Californian life and an outsider's wonder at the powerful workings of show business. The tone it establishes is challenging, because there are funny scenes and situations which could easily be played for laughs, but that black cloud of tension and danger hangs over all of them, and Spicer won't give you that release. The film fancies itself a scathing social satire about the lust for celebrity carried to extremes. But ultimately, Spicer's movie is a severely misconceived and distasteful study of delusional behavior. It's very funny, and it ends on a high note that was, for me, both a total surprise and completely satisfying. Yet it's also bristly, sometimes manic to the edge of lunacy and, along the way, terrifying. A wholly original and entirely offbeat, dark comedy about fame, obsessive fandom, and the medium from which they both feed: Instagram and other social media. The film is a chilling black comedy.
Simon says Ingrid Goes West receives:
Possibly overlooked and misunderstood upon its release, Ingrid Goes West today looks eerily prescient, and features a fine performance by Plaza as a strangely sympathetic psychopath. If there was any doubt that Plaza is the greatest and most unsettling actor in movies today and Spicer most adept at bringing out his genius, then the film should dispel it. As we see how Ingrid's pursuit of success is going to turn out, the film becomes an easy little fable of our terrible romance with fame. An early cautionary tale from Spicer about the desperation amongst common people to achieve fame and the obsession with celebrity culture. Clearly, it's more relevant than ever right now. Spicer infuses this tale with the passionate energy of Californian life and an outsider's wonder at the powerful workings of show business. The tone it establishes is challenging, because there are funny scenes and situations which could easily be played for laughs, but that black cloud of tension and danger hangs over all of them, and Spicer won't give you that release. The film fancies itself a scathing social satire about the lust for celebrity carried to extremes. But ultimately, Spicer's movie is a severely misconceived and distasteful study of delusional behavior. It's very funny, and it ends on a high note that was, for me, both a total surprise and completely satisfying. Yet it's also bristly, sometimes manic to the edge of lunacy and, along the way, terrifying. A wholly original and entirely offbeat, dark comedy about fame, obsessive fandom, and the medium from which they both feed: Instagram and other social media. The film is a chilling black comedy.
Simon says Ingrid Goes West receives:
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