Inventing Anna
English (Netflix)
Creator: Shonda Rhimes
Cast: Anna Chlumsky, Julia Garner, Arian Moayed
Rating: 2.5/5
Netflix’s shows on con artists have been very impressive. The likes of ‘Tinder Swindler’, ‘Fyre Festival’ and ‘Money Heist’ kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Naturally ‘Inventing Anna’, a miniseries on Anna Delvey, carried high expectations.
The real story of a woman in her 20s, who pulled off a remarkable con pretending to be a German heiress and hustled her way into the inner circle of the New York’s elite to get them to finance her vision of Anna Delvey Foundation (ADF), is remarkable.
‘Inventing Anna’ has a different director-writer combination for every episode and the story is from the perspective of one of Anna’s victims in every episode. Unfortunately, the series fails to do justice to the juicy premise.
With each episode spanning a little over an hour, the plot becomes unnecessarily long. The show fails to convincingly show how Anna swindled her victims, who were not unintelligent by any means.
The episode jumps from one situation to another without proper closures. The non-linear storytelling makes the timeline confusing.
Julia Garner’s portrayal of Anna Delvey is commendable. Be it showing off a cocky nature or displaying vulnerability, she does a fine job.
Her accent, though, sounds odd. Anna Chlumsky, playing a pregnant reporter fighting to save her career, is brilliant. The soundtracks wonderfully complement the scenes. Watch it for the intrigue surrounding the show but keep your expectations in check.