Inventing Anna mini-series is the next project between Netflix and Shondaland. This 9 part series tells the story about Anna Delvey, an Heiress…or con artist. While the series is fascinating, it suffers from overly dense episodes and inconsistent storytelling.
INVENTING ANNA
The Inventing Anna mini-series is based on Jessica Pressler’s article, “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York” for The Cut. The mini-series stars Julia Garner (Ozark) as Anna Delvey aka Anna Sororkin the “Heiress” and Anna Chlumsky (Veep) as Vivian Kent, the investigative reporter who investigates Anna’s case. The story of Anna Delbey is an incredible one. It’s about a girl who, through the power of the con, swindles the New York City socialite scene, as well as bankers, lawyers, real estate agents, her friends, and more. The whole thing feels like something ripped from the pages of a Scandal episode. However, it’s all true.
Anna’s entire goal is to fake it until she makes it. She wants to open a social club that’s more exclusive than SoHo House or APEX, but in order to do so, she needs money. By committing fraud on multiple levels, Anna almost makes her dream come true before getting caught and sent to Rikers Island. This is where she meets Vivian – who is based on the real-life reporter, Jessica Pressler. The two strikes up a bond and Vivian promises to help Anna become a star by sharing her side of the story.
LOTS OF INFORMATION, WITH INCONSISTENT STORYTELLING
I went into Inventing Anna knowing absolutely nothing. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never actually heard of Anna Delvey or this trial. So, when watching the series, I appreciate the step-by-step, clear storytelling up top. As Vivian and her fellow writers are learning Anna’s story, so is the viewer. That helps immensely with the plethora of information that’s being thrown at you in every single episode. However, after about 4-5 episodes the denseness of the information and full 1hr episodes really takes a toll.
While I really enjoyed the first half, I felt the back half of the series was lacking. It becomes a lot of round-robin conversations rehashing everything we already know and have spoken about multiple times. By the time we got to the trial, I no longer cared about the series or outcome. The juicy part was over. I think the series would’ve been stronger as 5-6 episodes vs 9.
INCREDIBLE CASTING
I think the casting of this series is phenomenal! At first, I was a little thrown by Garner’s accent. However, when I looked up videos of Anna herself, the mannerisms, accent, cadence, etc are pretty spot on! You can see her ruthlessness and pressure cracking just below the surface. And Garner navigates both with ease. Chlumsky is absolutely stellar as Vivian. Her passion drives every scene she’s in. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if both these women are nominated for Emmy’s.
You can watch Inventing Anna on Netflix on February 11th, 2022. Stay Tuned to THS for more reviews, news, and trailers!
