“This whole story is completely true. Except for all the parts that are totally made up.”
This is Shonda Rhimes’s disclaimer for “Inventing Anna” and she exercised her full artistic licence with it.
Having binge-watched all nine episodes on the infamous fake German heiress who hoodwinked New York’s well-heeled society into funding her lifestyle, I understand why it was deemed one of the most anticipated series of the year and why it’s trending across the globe.
Just like Simon Leviev from “The Tinder Swindler”, Anna Delvey (aka Anna Sorokin), played by Ozark’s Julie Garner, loved the finer things in life but couldn’t afford them.
That didn’t stop her as she lived the cliché, “Fake it till you make it”, with unbridled snobbery and confidence.
She stayed at the finest hotels, attended all the major drawcard events, hobnobbed with the rich and influential and shopped at designer stores.
And she sold that, “I’m a rich b****”, narrative.
Was she a narcissist? Well, that’s questionable. She loved the spotlight and had terribly expensive tastes. But she was also generous with her ill-gotten gains.
Her story piqued the curiosity of disgraced magazine writer Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky), who was hell-bent on getting out of writing a clickbait #MeToo Wall street piece.
However, her editors were not sold on her chronicles of a chic charlatan angle. But Vivian was like a dog with a bone on the stalemate situation until they grudgingly relented.
Who is Anna Delvey?
Well, that is what she set out to find out when she visits Anna at Rikers Island prison shortly after she’s arrested for a litany of charges, that include multiple counts of attempted grand larceny, larceny in the second degree, and theft of services in relation to the offences in 2019.
At their meeting, Anna gave Vivian a dressing down for “looking fat and poor”. She told her, “VIP is always better”, to encourage her to make use of the media perks for journalists visiting inmates at Rikers.
In trying to get a better sense of Anna, a heavily pregnant Vivian tracked down those closest to her: Neff Davis, an aspirant film-maker who befriended Anna while working at the hotel where she stayed, Rachel Williams (Katie Lowes), who works in the media space, and Kacy Duke (Laverne Cox), a spiritually-centred yoga instructor who becomes part of the girlfriend circle.
She also learnt of Chase Sikorski (Saamer Usmani), who was Anna’s opportunistic tech bae for a while, and how they finagled their way into the influential world of Nora (Kate Burton) and, in doing so, Anna convinced some of the most powerful figures to fund her vision for an art gallery.
Anna pitched it as a novel concept for the city’s elite and set her sights on the most sought-after building in New York – one where, if you bagged it, people knew you had arrived.
Anna’s lawyer Todd Spodek (Arian Moayed), who married rich, also gets a fair amount of screen time as he works relentlessly to help her and, in doing so, strikes up a friendship with Vivian.
Rhimes straddles the fine line between vilifying and lionising Anna.
At the start of the series, viewers are fascinated by Anna, who used social media to augment her so-called star clout. While she’s ambitious, tenacious and a fireball, she can also be unstable, emotional and volatile. And viewers get to see both sides.
Midway into the series, the viewer starts getting frustrated. The story arcs mushroom into several directions, derailing from the protagonist, which is why everyone tuned in.
Meanwhile, Vivian, in learning all she can about Anna with the help of her seasoned co-workers, who have been relegated to Scriberia, a place on the newsroom floor where the writers are basically invisible.
Rhimes also goes big on the sexism trope in the workplace and gets wrapped up in her idealism by painting Vivian’s husband as understanding and supportive.
“Inventing Anna” is a fascinating and frustrating watch, especially when Rhimes deviates into soapesque territory.
And while you can’t help but envy Anna’s chutzpah in serving up those soft life goals with trips to Ibiza and, Morocco, mingling with bigwigs on a private yacht or charting (stealing) a plane, you also ache and pity her.
She pulled off the biggest scams and although she paid the price for her wrongdoing, those who were duped by her either got promoted or rich from knowing her.
Fames comes at a price, even for those who aren’t a basic b**** – and that’s Anna’s story.
“Inventing Anna” is streaming on Netflix.