★★★★☆

THE faux happy world of social media posturing gets slammed together with the real world in this vibrant, cleverly written, savagely satirical comedy-drama from first-time feature director Matt Spicer.

Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) is a twenty-something woman obsessed with social media. We first see her attacking a “friend” on her wedding day that we soon discover is actually someone she stalked on Instagram. Following the incident she is committed to a mental hospital for examination.

After her release she receives the bad news that her mother has suddenly passed away and has left her a $60,000 inheritance. Instead of using the money sensibly, she slides back into her old ways by picking a new target to virtually stalk.

This time it’s Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olson), an Instagram star and, as an alluring magazine article describes her, “your newest girl crush”, who appears to be living the perfect California lifestyle. You know the type; those that are #blessed for being able to enjoy avocado on toast at their favourite independent café.

So Thorburn heads out to LA to meet her new idol in person. Once there she begins emulating Sloane’s lifestyle and interests, eventually hatching a plan to steal her dog and return it in order to worm her way into her seemingly idyllic life she lives with artist boyfriend Ezra (Wyatt Russell).

Meanwhile, Thorburn shacks up with neighbour Dan Pinto (Straight Outta Compton’s O’Shea Jackson Jr), a wannabe screenwriter with an obsession for all things Batman. All seems to be going well as Thorburn and Sloane become BFFs but that’s interrupted by the arrival of Sloane’s unpredictable brother Nicky (Billy Magnussen).

This certainly isn’t the first film to tackle the pervasiveness of social media in the modern world, with the likes of Unfriended and Friend Request taking us down the horror route, but it feels like the most vital and timely thus far.

A kind of Single White Female for the Instagram generation, this shrewd journey westward ties us to a troubled young woman whose mental illness causes her to dangerously cling on to reality as it is presented on the web, where people’s lives always seem better and where approval in the form of likes, comments and shares is of paramount importance.

Anchored by Plaza’s impressively unhinged lead performance, it’s a consistently funny, often poignant and sometimes startling film, with much of the dark humour coming from a place of truth; a carefully observed satirical glance at the way people interact online versus in real life and an obsession with fame that can engulf some people’s lives.

Does a popular online figure owe anything to their followers? Where is the line drawn between fandom and obsession? Is social media a positive way to engage that can merely be misjudged and misused or is it inherently harmful? Ingrid Goes West asks these questions in an engaging and thought-provoking fashion. It feels like something of an essential film for our time.