Rating: 3.5/5
‘Inventing Anna’ is a Netflix drama series based on the real-life story of a fake German heiress who conned her way into most elite social circles of New York and the journalist whose intrepid reporting broke the story.
Story
Anna Delvey (Julia Garner) is a Russo-German influencer who has dreams of making it big in the high society of New York by starting a very elite social club celebrating art and culture.
In her bid to achieve that dream, she mingles with some of the most influential socialites, bankers and convinces them to part with their time and resources at no cost of her own.
Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) is a journalist for the Manhattan magazine who is still dealing with the fallout from an article gone wrong in her past that put a huge dent in her reputation.
She sees Anna’s story as intriguing enough to secure redemption and rebuild her career, which is why she meets with her and begins digging into her entire life to find out the truth behind her scam.
Along Anna’s journey, she makes several friends and colleagues who are taken for a ride by this narcissistic and at times delusional person who is the sole cause of her downfall.
Performances
Julia Garner puts in a good performance as the aloof and erratic Anna Delvey, encapsulating the cold and manipulative behaviour she was well known for exhibiting.
Her vague accent however, is quite jarring and inconsistent throughout which is a particularly low point in the performance.
Anna Chlumsky does a solid job playing the determined reporter who is hell bent on getting to the bottom of this story. While is she one of the more prominent roles on screen, her performance cannot be considered extraordinary.
Alexis Ford is particularly snappy and has showcases a lot of flair in the role of Neff as she is constantly making snide comments and not afraid to speak her mind on most occasions.
Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry and Anna Deavere Smith are a treat as the older reporters who help Vivian with her story. Their comedic timing and chemistry is a real joy to watch throughout.
Arian Moayed is also great as Anna’s lawyer, who at times feels like he’s in over his head for a client that is impossible to deal with, and yet he perseveres because that is what he is good at.
Positives
The cinematography is fabulous in this series. There are moments where a split screen is used, with each box showing off a different perspective of the same subject which was quite intriguing.
There are running shots of some of the exotic locations in the world like Morroco and Paris as well the setting in New York. All of these locations are given ample exposure to show off what’s so special about them.
The script is well written with many of the dialogues standing out, aided by their delivery from very able cast. Certain lines tend to stick with you for the duration of the series and beyond.
Negatives
With a combined runtime of close to 9 hours, this series takes quite an effort to get through and that may definitely put off many people. the story does tend to drag on at certain moments.
There is unsure attempt to bring the issue of sexism and fighting the patriarchy into the story with several mentions but no real depth has been added to it.
Verdict
Inventing Anna is a brilliant showcase of how detached the world of the one percent is from the common people and it will certainly get you feeling mixed emotions for the protagonist who is taking the entitled for a ride, but at the same time not endearing herself to the public with her own antics.
Also Read: Inventing Anna summary and ending explained