By Natasha Porter
“This whole story is completely true, except for all the parts that are totally made up.” Netflix’s new miniseries Inventing Anna reminds us of this statement at the beginning of every episode in varyingly odd ways, and this is the first of many strange choices made by the show. The series tells the real-life story of scammer and fraud Anna Delvey, the infamous fake German heiress who schemed her way into New York’s high society and scammed banks, hotels, and her own friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The true story is riveting and surreal because it is almost laughable how easily Anna was able to fool everyone around her, including some of the most powerful people in society. Unfortunately, the show was anything but riveting. Despite the hype, the dramatic real-life content, and Shonda Rhimes’ history of creating gripping TV dramas, Inventing Anna was extraordinarily dull. How could a story that’s so interesting be told in such a boring way?
Inventing Anna’s first mistake was sidelining Anna in her own show. Instead, the main character is Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) who is, frankly, a dry and unlikeable character. Vivian, who is a fictionalised version of journalist Jessica Pressler, attempts to piece together Anna’s life through interviewing those who knew her. This spirals into the borderline stalking and harassment of Anna’s former friends and family. There is nothing particularly interesting about Vivian, except the fact that she is pregnant and has an unreasonably patient husband who overlooks her obsession with Anna. The focus on Vivian’s story instead of the real star, Anna, led to several useless scenes that did not drive the plot.
In addition to an uninspiring main character, Inventing Anna’s episodes were unbearably long. Ranging from 59 to 82 minutes, the episodes drag on, making it an uncomfortable series to binge. The plot is simply not gripping enough to keep viewers coming back for every episode if they stop watching, leaving the series in a strange middle ground between a binge watch and a weekly release. The episodes were poorly paced, followed several plot lines despite the aim to focus on one character per episode, and almost always ended on an uneventful note. On top of this, the show features several trope-y and unnecessary side characters who strangely disappear halfway through the series and has a jarring soundtrack that does not match the mood of the series.
The only redeeming quality in Inventing Anna is the titular character. Anna (Julia Garner) is effortlessly fascinating and charming. It is impossible not to root for her as she manipulates the extremely rich bankers and real estate moguls. The show chooses to take a rather sympathetic view on Anna’s motivations. “Men fail upwards all the time”, Anna says, using feminist sounding language to justify her ‘fake it til you make it’ attitude and to highlight the double standards she faces as a young woman in comparison to the other liars and fakes in New York’s high society. Even with the show’s sympathetic take on her motivations, Anna’s monologues on her own visionary nature, and Vivian’s bizarre attempts to save Anna despite full knowledge of her crimes, her true nature is shockingly clear – she is nothing as she is completely invented. She is wholly fake.
While it was enjoyable to see many actors from the Shondaland cinematic universe (many of the recurring characters were played by Scandal cast members) the show lacked a clear message and a sense of direction. Inventing Anna did not provide the drama that the trailer promised and reading the original piece by Jessica Pressler is a time-saving way to understand the story in a way that is much more exciting. Inventing Anna suffered from an identity crisis – it was not a documentary yet not completely fictional. It was about Anna but also about Vivian. Anna is a sociopathic villain but also a folk hero who steals from the rich. Viewers are left feeling confused and unsatisfied. Just like Anna, the show was hollow, empty, and in a few years, totally forgettable.
Hi, I’m Natasha! I’m from London and I’m a MSc History of International Relations student. I like to write about music and film. I also enjoy pretending to be a cultural critic by over-analysing reality TV. You can find me on instagram @stopnatasha and by email N.L.Porter@lse.ac.uk
