Metro.co.uk — Aubrey Plaza is one of the best actresses of her generation, flitting between deadpan humour in Parks and Recreation to the at-times terrifying Lenny in Legion, which saw her stretch her talents to new genres and characters. Now the 33-year-old actress is starring in one of 2017’s most thought-provoking films, Ingrid Goes West. The film follows Ingrid Thorburn, who after the death of her mother and various self-inflicted setbacks, escapes to Los Angeles where she aims to befriend an Instagram pal, Taylor Sloane, who is living the #perfect life. From the opening scene however it has been made clear that Ingrid is actually slightly unhinged, and despite the two forging a close bond the lies begin to mount between Ingrid and Taylor, leading to results which are at once comical and horrifying to watch. Was that what drew Aubrey to the role? ‘Yes, the script and the character,’ she tells Metro.co.uk. ‘I just thought it was such an original character and I loved how complicated it was, and how it’s funny and sad and dark, it was really unique.’

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The film attempts to offer an exploration of a culture consumed by social media; have we gone so far that the desire for a like on a picture of #avotoast is outweighing our desire for human contact? Have a generation lost the ability to be honest? ‘Not enough people are talking about the impacts of social media on young people especially,’ says Aubrey. ‘It must be such a confusing thing for a young person to navigate, it’s confusing enough for adults, for me! ‘It affects me in that way too where I am constantly, like, having low self esteem moments, where you compare yourself to something else, and it’s all not real anyway. ‘It can be really manipulative and it can be really bad if you’re not aware of what’s really happening.’

There are no winners at the film’s conclusion – although you feel like both Ingrid and Taylor aren’t going to learn a single #lifelesson from their relationship – and Aubrey has only one piece of advice for those who may find themselves down an Instagram rabbit hole. ‘I would say remember that it’s all fake,’ she says. ‘When it’s an image based platform, people spend hours to make these things look as perfect as they look and to make themselves look as perfect as they seem to be, and so it’s just not real. ‘It’s not real life, so I would say just turn it off, and be in the moment.’