“Inventing Anna” TV review

The phrase “fake it ’til you make it,” is one that many of us are familiar with. But what happens when that becomes your reality? 

This is the story of Anna Sorokin, better known as Anna Delvey. TV producer Shonda Rhimes, best known for “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal,” has produced a nine-episode limited series titled “Inventing Anna,” detailing the story of the German heiress-impostor Anna Delvey who managed to con New York’s socialites, big name banks, and hotels out of almost $300,000 by crafting an enigmatic alternate personality. 

Delvey managed to make powerful connections that gave her the social capital to gain access to numerous people and resources, yet she was never able to truly afford any of it.

The show was released on Netflix on Feb. 11 and currently holds the number one spot in Netflix’s weekly top 10 list. The cast  includes some prominent names such as Julia Garner as the main character and Laverne Cox as Kacy Duke. 

Considering the cast and Rhimes’s and Netflix’s involvement, expectations were high. In fact, Netflix paid the real Anna Sorokin $320,000 just for the rights to her story. However, after watching the show, it is unfortunate to say that it underperformed.

Performance: 7/10

The true highlight of the entire show is Garner’s portrayal of the Delvey. Delvey was particularly known for her very unconventional German accent that Garner absolutely nails. Her deadpan delivery of Delvey’s dialogue in the portrayal of Anna was incredible. 

Additionally, Kate Burton, who plays Nora, and Katie Lowes, who plays Rachel, were the standouts of the side characters, both delivering a solid performance in their roles. 

However, apart from these three, the acting fell a bit flat. Some of the performances felt very animated and out of place for this particular story. As a result, much of it  detracted from the story.

Plot: 6/10

One of the downsides of the plot was the heavy focus on the journalist Vivian Kent’s life. Personally, I felt the inclusion of the minor storylines in her life distracted from the overall focus on Delvey and did not add any value to the show. While I could understand the need to develop her character, I think highlighting her dynamic with Delvey was more than enough to achieve some depth.

Additionally, there were a couple of fictional details and characters that were added to embellish this story. Perhaps this was strategic considering how difficult story rights can get when dealing with true stories such as these. 

However, if these were creative decisions, they were distracting from the story. It would have been less confusing if the production had adhered to the real story as closely as possible.

Writer Creativity: 5/10

Unfortunately, the writing of the show felt like the biggest letdown of the production. From the cheesy lines, to the drawn-out episodes, it was difficult to fight the urge to skip through certain moments in the series. 

Each episode was around an hour long, which could have easily been cut down to 45 minutes each. The show failed to have a great build up that would leave you itching to figure out what would happen next. 

Unlike other true crime reenactments such as “The People v. O.J. Simpson” or “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” that manage to build tension and suspense in well known stories, “Inventing Anna” simply did not.

All in all, this definitely  is not the best true crime story turned TV show. It is definitely worth a watch if the story interests you, but other than the flashy story, there are more engaging and rich shows out there.

Overall Rating: 6/10

~ Tanvi Iyer ’22