By Marley Brennan
Staff Writer
The new Netflix series, Inventing Anna, is a riveting true story that draws the listener in with twisting economic ploys and powerful women making a stand in a predominantly male industry.
The gripping and powerful plot makes ‘Inventing Anna’ and is definitely worth your time. The show recreates the life of Anna Sorokin, making it almost all non-fiction. The actors, fashion, set design, and characters are all on point for what makes a TV show so enjoyable.
The Story is based on a real person named Anna Sorokin, a convicted con artist. Anna Sorokin is a woman who claims to come from a very wealthy family; however, her savings are all in Germany. Sorokin has a dream to buy a plot of land and create a media hub for artists all over the world to come and stay. Along the way she meets many people who all seem to have a different view of her.
Vivian Kent, the journalist writing a story about Anna, faces a lot of difficult finding sources. During the time that Kent is writing her story, Anna is in jail for fraud. Vivian is making her way through Anna’s life as she begins interviewing her “friends” and business colleagues, while simultaneously battling her personal life. Keeping the program interesting, it jumps back and forth from Anna’s life before jail and Vivian running around New York City, searching for sources and visiting Anna in jail. The very well-crafted series makes for a captivating binge watch.
The sophisticated yet realistic fashion design in the series makes the show very visually pleasing. As mentioned, the story follows both a young “wealthy” business woman and a pregnant middle-class journalist. Anna Sorokin is seen wearing anything from brilliant floral pantsuits to sparkly party dresses to gingham print coats. The costume designer did an excellent job portraying Anna as having a classy and very put-together style. The journalist, Vivian Kent, is seen wearing basic attire: jeans and a sweater, for example. The costume designer, Lyn Paolo, accurately depicted society’s roles through their clothing.
The character development conveyed throughout the story is another topic of commandment. At first, the watchers are blind-sided as to who Anna really is. Throughout the nine episodes, averaging at about an hour each, information slowly begins to disclose through the untangling of secrets and lies within each and every character. There are multiple plots going on at once yet they all interrelate some way or another. The crew did a great job preventing confusion through their characters by providing small connections between each.
Though the episodes are long, there are rarely times where it seems as if the show is dragging it on just for the sake of length. As said at the beginning of each episode, the whole story is true, except for the parts that are totally made up. The foundation of the story is true, Anna Sorokin is a real person who was convicted for theft of services. Even though the series is based off of a real case, they added fictional details that made the story so gripping.
The cast of actors did an incredible job making the story plausible and engaging. With the added fictional twists, deterring from the true story, the already intriguing and thought-provoking storyline jumped another level. The acting was very believable and the cast is very recognizable. The lead, Julia Garner is the main character in Ozark and the journalist, Vivian Kent, played by Anna Chlumsky who is a lead role in ‘Vada Sultenfuss’ and made appearances in ‘My Girl’ and its sequel.
Feminism is portrayed throughout the story as Anna, a mostly single businesswoman makes her way through a man’s world in New York City. The men in the story who at first underestimate Anna, quickly find themselves mistaken. Anna Sorokin establishes her authority and makes her wealth known everywhere she goes. Becoming more common in recent years, this blatant feminism seems to be taking over movies and TV shows and further gives hope for it to be a worldwide belief.
The fashion, acting, and plot of Netflix’s new riveting series ‘Inventing Anna’ is definitely worth the watch. The upbeat yet mysterious mood keeps watchers engaged and on the edge of their seat.
‘Inventing Anna’ currently has 9 episodes that are rated TV-MA and can be streamed on Netflix.
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