Who knew the world was so full of scammers and con artists until the pandemic shook the pockets of the most vulnerable. Yes, there were the Enrons, international phishing emails, and everyday identity theft scoundrels, yet for many, they are in for a pleasantly amusing surprise when they discover that a con artist can look like your grandmother, very best friend, or an IG model.
New Netflix drama miniseries Inventing Anna brings a real-life, partially made-up story to the forefront. Based on the Jessica Pressler article covering “German Heiress” turned convicted felon Anna Sorokin, Inventing Anna chronicles the 30-something year-old in her 20s as she masterfully finesses the social elite of New York.
It didn’t take much for Sorokin to have people eating out of her hands. A few money bands, designer brands, and luxurious social settings curated the perfect image for Sorokin to live her best life — isn’t that eerily similar to the social media culture of today? Of course, in order to get over on people, Sorokin had to live with telling a few big lies and manipulating people by using their own selfish desires against them.
Shonda Rhimes executive produces the intriguing series that currently holds the No. 1 spot on the Netflix top 10 list. Starring Emmy winner Julia Garner, Anna Chlumsky, Alexis Floyd, and Laverne Cox, the series follows journalist Vivian Kent (Chlumsky) as she attempts to redeem her flailing career with an impressive exposé into self-proclaimed entrepreneur Anna Delvey’s (Garner) mysterious fallout with her prestigious social circle and mounting hotel and bank debts.
Sorokin was arrested in 2017 and convicted in 2019 for first-degree attempted grand larceny, second-degree grand larceny, theft of services, and five more fraud counts.
Upon her release from prison in 2021, she was detained by immigration organization ICE for violating the expiration of her visa. The Russian born fraudster faces being deported back to Germany. Sorokin famously admitted that she wasn’t apologetic about her actions after her conviction. She later retracted her statements saying that she now sees the world differently as a result of being exposed to people from different walks of life.
“I was taken out of context,” she told the New York Times. “I feel sorry for the way my case is being perceived. And I feel sorry that I resorted to these actions that people think I’m glorifying now. I feel sorry for the choices I’ve made. Definitely, I don’t feel like the world would be a better place if people were just trying to be more like me.”
The nine episodes do a spectacular justice to what led up to Sorokin receiving a four to 12 year sentence in prison — although she only served two of those years — in a fashionably fun and youthful way. A touch of millennial and Gen-Z culture is peppered throughout the series in a contemporary method of storytelling that appeals to the modern viewer.
Critics go in on the series for a multitude of reasons. Complaints range from the series being too long, poor acting, and a direct criticism targeting Shondaland team and crew, but the biggest rant of all is the lack of authenticity of the story. Many viewers were expecting the limited series to give a fully true depiction of the headlining news story that surfaced in 2017. Instead, each episode of the series opens with a disclaimer that some parts are “made up,” further confusing viewers on what to believe.
What these critics fail to understand is that there is a certain storytelling style in play and its Shonda Rhimes’ signature vision cosigned by the one and only Sorokin. What risk is it to have the same biopic, documentary style of a series based on someone’s life that emulates what we’ve all seen in the past? Those attributes of storytelling can be covered in an actual documentary about Anna Sorokin. In Fact, Sorokin is currently working on a documentary with Bunim Murray Productions. Her story will also be detailed in a podcast. For those who just can’t take art imitating life in audio-visual form, the glorified criminal is also working on a book.
So there. These projects should satisfy every facet of the critic — but, it won’t. Let’s be honest, several critics are upset that Sorokin’s story is even getting any shine given that it kind of glorifies immorality, while others are projecting their sense of embarrassment for a young, “generally white” woman pretending to be wealthy and important. Beyond that, the timing couldn’t be worse with the looming cloud of financial destruction slowing becoming inevitable. Perspective is essential here.
Sorokin’s story is a cautionary one full of guidelines that instruct the aspiring scammer or con artist on how to obtain the American Dream. The same critics that despise the series are the same people in real life that produce a society of insidiously narcissistic wannabes vying for love and attention by any means. Every unwarranted like on social media, every participation award, and every disingenuous compliment appears to be cultivating a happy and inclusive environment, but in reality, it’s just telling people that they don’t have to really work for what they want. All they have to do is show up (using big words while wearing an impressive fit).
