Films about women infatuated with other women tend to have some Sapphic undertones, if not some intentional maintext. Some recent examples include The Roommate, Breaking the Girls, Notes on a Scandal, and Breathe, all of which had a throughline of obsession. A new twist on this subgenre of stalking movies (don’t worry, heterosexuals have some of their own!) stars Aubrey Plaza as a woman so invested in a social media star (Elizabeth Olsen) that she moves to Los Angeles to attempt and “befriend” her. Here’s the plot description:
Thee film follows a young woman named Ingrid (Plaza) who becomes obsessed with a social media star named Taylor Sloane (Olsen) with a seemingly perfect life. When Ingrid decides to drop everything and move west to befriend Taylor, her behavior turns unsettling and increasingly dangerous.
Photos by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic & Michael Stewart
Unlike the films above, Ingrid Goes West is described as a dark comedy. It’s also written by a dude (Matt Spicer), directed by a dude (David Branson Smith) and being produced by a handful of dudes. (Aubrey is a producer, too, so that’s hopeful.)
Although Aubrey has played queer on-screen and recently mentioned her bisexuality publicly for the first time, there’s no indication if any of Ingrid’s antics will be motivated by anything other than jealousy in an “I want to be you” kind of way. But as many queer women know, there’s a thin line between “Do I want to be her or do I want to fuck her?” Sometimes the answer is both.
Do you think straight guys can grasp that concept?
