The title was intriguing so we started watching the mini-series on Netflix. The titles come up with the tag line, that its a true story, except for the parts that are made up. We thought it was a clever gimmick to lure the viewers in thinking it was a true story. Well, IT IS a TRUE STORY that has been made into a mini-series and some creative liberties have been taken.
The Story – Inventing Anna
A young 25 year old girl called Anna Delvey lands in New York and poses as a rich German heiress. The first episode we see is when Anna is in jail and a disgraced journalist called Vivian wants to interview her to revive her career. Vivian manages to convince Anna that she is on her side and gets to interview her. The whole story goes back and forth between the past and the present. Slowly the viewer gets to see the “real” Anna Delvey.
Anna initially stays at 12 George a boutique hotel and manages to tip $100 every time. Don’t know how she got that money. The concierge, Neff, becomes her defacto admin assistant setting up meetings and helping her get VVIP treatment everywhere. When the manager realises there is no credit card on record, all hell breaks loose. Somehow Anna manages to wire the outstanding amount to the hotel before checking out. Neff is the only friend Anna ever makes, if we were to believe the series.
There is a “rich” boyfriend who in reality is a con artist himself and lives with a rich socialite. Anna throws him under the bus and earns the socialite’s trust and that gives her access to the rich and famous. Everyone has an image of Anna Delvey as someone with a $60 million trust fund just about to vest and she dresses the part, speaks the part and almost no one picks up on the red flags. None of Anna’s credit cards would ever work !!!! Someone else will always pick up the tab. Can’t think of a bigger red flag than that. Her father forever forgets to put money into her checking account. Yet another red flag.
Anna goes to jail thanks to a friend Rachel Williams who works for Vanity Fair and ends up paying $67000 using her office credit card for their stay in a fancy hotel at Morocco. As always none of Anna’s credit cards work and Rachel is forced to use her credit card. Anna just doesn’t return the money and the police finally put Anna in jail for fraud.
To sum up the story – Anna Delvey is a con artist. She manages to con New York’s elite into believing she is a German Heiress with a trust fund. Bankers, artists, the ultra rich, all fall for her story. Anna manipulates, lies and invents a German manager (using her phone and a software that turns her voice into a man’s voice) in order to convince “serious” money managers that they are dealing with the real thing. Finally, she goes to jail for fraud.
The Actors
The actors playing the different characters are simply outstanding. Anna Delvey is played by Julia Garner, an actress to watch out for. She is truly phenomenal. Neff, the concierge and the only friend Anna Delvey has, is played by Alexis Floyd who truly shines despite not being the main protagonist. Vivian Kent, the disgraced journalist is played by Anna Chlumsky and while some of her facial expressions do go overboard from my point of view, she does a great job of a harried pregnant journalist in search of a story.
The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence
The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence is an article by Adam Grant. Anna Sorokin aka Anna Delvey practically demonstrates it. Read the following excerpts to understand how con artists have high emotional intelligence and use it to fool people.
Excerpt – “….Emotional intelligence is important, but the unbridled enthusiasm has obscured a dark side. New evidence shows that when people hone their emotional skills, they become better at manipulating others. When you’re good at controlling your own emotions, you can disguise your true feelings. When you know what others are feeling, you can tug at their heartstrings and motivate them to act against their own best interests.
Social scientists have begun to document this dark side of emotional intelligence. In emerging research led by University of Cambridge professor Jochen Menges, when a leader gave an inspiring speech filled with emotion, the audience was less likely to scrutinize the message and remembered less of the content. Ironically, audience members were so moved by the speech that they claimed to recall more of it.“
Excerpt – “….. For mechanics, scientists, and accountants, emotional intelligence was a liability rather than an asset. Although more research is needed to unpack these results, one promising explanation is that these employees were paying attention to emotions when they should have been focusing on their tasks. If your job is to analyze data or repair cars, it can be quite distracting to read the facial expressions, vocal tones, and body languages of the people around you.”
Conclusion – Inventing Anna is a web series that is disturbing at several levels. That Anna Delvey was a fake and a con artist is a fact. What I can’t wrap my head around is the fact that everyone who was fooled by her also thinks she is just a young hustler. No, she is no hustler, she is clearly a fraudster and seems to have had every intent of misusing the money she “might” have raised from a financial institution. The web series shows her in a sympathetic light … a very dangerous precedent. Young impressionable minds will watch the series and want to be Anna Delvey !!!
For older, more mature audience it’s a great series to understand how easily we can be fooled.
So that’s my cautionary review of Inventing Anna. Watch with awareness.