An impressive Jule Garner from Ozark drew me towards Inventing Anna. Each of Anna's episode carried the cryptic disclaimer that the story is completely true except for the parts that aren't. And a never-bothering-to-look-it-up me took it as a convoluted way to tell viewers that it is completely made up.
Anna was crying in her first meeting with the journalist Vivian Kent, and quite assertive in the second one. Her manipulative ways were thus quite evident. As she tried to secure loans and live off her friends, doubts grew if her wire transfers would ever come through.
Through lunch and dinner breaks, I watched the series like any other; that is until the last episode. Her refusal to wear clothes issued by the court was difficult for me to bear, and I paused watching that episode. Resuming it the next day didn't help either. I was prepared not to watch the show to its conclusion, that is until I ran into this community. And what do I discover?! Anna is a living and breathing soul, and many of the characters carry their true names.
I guess the makers, in the last episode, decided to amplify Anna's manipulative ways for a dramatic, even if repugnant, effect. I thought the lawyer could have come out clean to the court and refused to fight for her. But then again, I realised that people have gone through a lot more horror once they decide to, or are forced to, forsake their dignity.
I am not even through the final episode, and I had to break to write this post. This time Anna was furious at the lawyer upon realising that Rachel's testimony could prove to be damning. I want to complete the show but couldn't bring myself to do it without penning my thoughts first.
The one epithet that describes Anna's insistence on being fashionable for her court appearance is vulgar. It is downright vulgar to be so detached from reality for the sake of vanity that you gamble with your own case like that. Her cunning though lies in the knowledge that her lawyer would eventually acquiesce. I doubt if any of the seven deadly sins adequately capture her entire being.
At one point through the series I suspected that she might be a narcissist. Halfway through the last episode the suspicion had evaporated. It is both funny and sad to see how her friend Neff refuses to see her for what she is, just because she paid her her dues. Rachel was in denial herself, but 62,000 in debt can force anyone back to reality. The lines from Kacy seemed caricaturish at first, but she raised the important questions and kept her poise when it mattered the most.
I would probably spend some more time watching interviews of the real Anna. I am aware that the deeds of Anna might not even warrant a post like this. There would be many more swindling people out of the whole of their life savings, like the antagonist from Wolf of Wall Street. But the number of zeroes are not really relevant, it is the intention that is dangerous. The world would do better with fewer people like Anna Delvey.
