Why is there such a buzz about..?
Inventing Anna (Netflix)
‘This whole story is completely true, except for all the parts that are totally made up’ is the wacky warning at the beginning of every episode of Netflix’s latest big hit.
It’s based on a New York magazine investigation into a fake German heiress, Anna Delvey (real name Anna Sorokin), who scammed her way through New York high society to an eyewatering degree.
Viewers have warmed to this enigmatic figure, mesmerisingly played by Ozark’s Julia Garner (above).
Whether knocking back (free) champagne in (freebie) couture threads, or in prison garb making bitchy comments at the investigating journo, it seems creator Shonda Rhimes admires this young woman who attempted to borrow $40m to set up an exclusive arts club for Manhattan’s glitterati.
You might find this all a stretch – notably the jaw-dropping stupidity of her dupes – but it’s a picaresque cocktail of style and financial sleight-of-hand, not to say sheer brass neck, and Garner’s narcissistic sociopath is riveting.