You might have seen the previews for Inventing Anna come across your Netflix screen (or maybe you didn’t). Or maybe you saw the articles come out the news a few years (again, or maybe you didn’t).
Either way, you’re bound to hear some buzz around it. Here’s a series review of Inventing Anna, a Netflix-Shonda Rhime’s take on the true story of a fake German heiress named Anna Delvey.
What’s It About?
A story broke way back in 2017 about a New York socialite named Anna Delvey who was posing as a German heiress. She was friends with all the right people (not just celebrities, but also important business men and women), wore the best clothes, visited the best clubs and restaurants, stayed at the nicest hotels, and said all the right things.
There was nothing about her, except … actually, well everything. Anna Delvey (real surname Sorokin), is originally from Russia but appears to have moved to Germany at some time when she was younger, accompanied by her family.
After spending most of her early 20’s in Europe, she finally came to the US. Not much is known about her education or work history (probably because there is none). However, we do know she was on trial in 2019 for several counts of grand larceny in various degrees.
So who exactly did she defraud? The various people and institutions that filed charges included large banks, real estate agencies, lawyers, credit card companies, hotel chains, and even a private jet company. This is the story of how a young woman with no connections, no money, and no work history swindled her way to the top.
Fact vs. Fiction
Netflix paid Anna Sorokin the rights to her story to adapt this limited series. And who did they get on board to produce and direct? None other than Shonda Rhimes, of course. If you’re not sure who that is, she is the drama mastermind behind Grey’s Anatomy. There’s no doubt she knows how to spin a story like this into something juicy.
In this version of events, we uncover Anna’s story not through Anna herself but through a report named Vivian Kent, based off of real-life reported Jessica Pressler. Vivian is a pregnant, disgraced investigative journalist who has the chance to make or break her career.
What’s a socialite without friends? We get to meet Kayce Duke, celebrity fitness instructor, Rachel Williams, and Neff, a hotel worker. These three are all based on true people. Their portrayals and story lines are all relatively true too. Rachel actually did sell herself (and her friend) out for a boat load of cash.
Also true is our beloved Todd Spodek, Anna’s very down-to-earth, didn’t-come-from-money lawyer.
Ok, but what about the business people on the show? Anna’s lawyer Alan Reed, and her other “dream team” members like her architect, art curator, real estate agent, etc. are definitely made up. That’s not to say that there wasn’t some true life version of them. But the names and storylines were altered to tell the Netflix story.
And what about the tech-guru boyfriend? There seems to be some allusion that there was a boyfriend who was in the tech industry with a start up app. But his name was not Chase. There’s no real evidence except a vague Instagram post from way back in the day.
Watch It or Not?
The show definitely appeals to a more female audience who probably have some type of fantasy of living out that uber glamorous lifestyle. But that’s not really the purpose. I think all audiences can enjoy this story of an immigrant who swindled her way to the top, with nothing more than the clothes on her back. I’m not even sure ‘swindled’ is the right word.
It’s clear that you have to have some type of gumption, acumen, and social awareness to be able to do what she did. We’re not talking about getting someone to pay for her ritzy dinner. Have you thought about what skills it would take to get $40 MILLION?
Anna and Vivian aren’t magically connected when they first meet — it’s a transaction. Vivian gets her story and Anna gets her story told. But as the show progresses, we see a parallel between these two characters. They are both women in a man’s world, trying to make their way to the top of their respective careers and prove their worth.
