If we had to sum up the philosophy of Anna Delvey, née Sorokin, in one sentence, we would immediately choose “ Fake it till you make it » (“Pretend until it works”, free translation), because to pretend, the Russian naturalized German had no equal. Remarkable with her sharp accent, her innate taste for fashion and her cruel sense of repartee, the brilliant young woman was only 22 when she arrived in New York in 2013. Two years later, the Instagrammer digs into the Big Apple and New York high society literally eats out of her hand.
Shopping sprees at Bergdorf, gourmet meals at Nobu, private jet flights, stays in the most luxurious hotels — including La Mamounia, in Morocco, at $10,000 a night: nothing is too good for the one who pretends to be a wealthy German heiress. And all this at the expense of his freshly met friends at social events. His goal behind this princely lifestyle? Convince the biggest banks to advance him a loan in order to create a foundation in his name at 281 Park Avenue South, a historic six-storey building.
“This whole story is totally true. Except for all the parts that are totally made up,” reads the beginning of each episode ofInventing Anna, a new creation by the almighty Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Bridgerton). Based on an article by Jessica Pressler, “ How Anna (Sorokin) Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People », published in the magazine New York in 2018, the series is available in nine episodes and focuses on the relationship that developed between the con artist (Julia Garner) and the journalist (Anna Chlumsky), renamed Vivian Kent for the purposes of fiction.
For the record, an article by Pressler published in 2015 was the source of inspiration forScam in heels (VF Hustlers), by Lorene Scafaria, where strippers tricked their wealthy Wall Street clients. In short, the scammers, the lady knows well.
To lie…
When the arrogant Anna Delvey and the stubborn Vivian Kent meet, the former awaits her trial in prison and the latter wishes to prove her competence to her hierarchical superiors. At each meeting, the two women engage sometimes in a fierce verbal jousting, sometimes in a feigned friendly conversation. Without wanting to admit it, they feel a fascination for each other. And soon it is the viewer who will be both fascinated and repelled by Anna. It must be said that the interpretation of Julia Garner (imagine Cate Blanchett in her early youth) commands admiration – facing her, Anna Chlumsky proves to be an equally solid partner.
To spice it all up, the story is told with a good dose of biting humor and an energetic staging, enhanced by a playful use of split-screen which gives the illusion of leafing through a glossy magazine. It is not surprising to discover in the credits David Frankel, director of the stripper The Devil Wears Prada. Moreover, Anna Delvey’s appearances at her trial are like fashion shows, to the delight of her many fans on Instagram. “I am a legend, an icon”, we hear him say at the start of the first episode.
With her spoiled child attitude and her total lack of scruples, Anna Delvey is certainly not innocent, but is she therefore the most reprehensible character of the lot? While the journalist continues her thrilling investigation, with the help of sympathetic veterans relegated to oblivion, at the risk of ruining her life as a couple and having a miscarriage, Inventing Anna highlights the misogyny of the business community, the hypocrisy of the upper middle class, the opportunism of the media and lawyers, as well as the need for recognition of all those who have crossed paths with the young criminal.
If some friends like Neff Davis (Alexis Floyd), aspiring filmmaker, and Kacy Duke (Laverne Cox), life coach, did not suffer too much in the end, it is quite different for Rachel DeLoache Williams (Katie Lowes ), who had to sell his story to the Vanity Fair to replenish its coffers. And we don’t talk to you about these wealthy ladies too proud to testify at the trial of the one who cheerfully plucked them. Basically, if no one was suspicious of the intriguing foreigner, it was because everyone was irresistibly attracted by her growing notoriety and wanted to profit from it. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity…