disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

INVENTING ANNA -- So Bad You Can't Stop Watching

2/9/2022

0 Comments

 
Review by Sean Boelman
Picture
Julia Garner as Anna Delvery in episode 102 of Inventing Anna. Credit: David Giesbrecht/Netflix © 2021.
Shonda Rhimes is one of the biggest television producers in the industry, so much so that pretty much anything she touches is sure to be a smash hit. Inventing Anna is sure to set the internet ablaze like every other Shondaland outing, even if people will be watching and talking about it for all the wrong reasons. 

The series follows a journalist who investigates the story of a German immigrant who sets out to become a socialite in New York by charming the hearts of high society members and stealing their money. It’s based on a true story, but obviously has the Shonda Rhimes touch, playing out in a sensationalized way that feels more like How to Get Away With Murder than a drama inspired by real-life crime.

Without a doubt the worst thing about this show is its pacing. There is no reason for this series to be nine episodes long, and for almost all of those episodes to be over an hour. It’s a trashy, melodramatic mess that goes on an unnecessary amount of tangents, and yet… it’s the type of thing you can’t stop watching.

The show attempts to make the protagonist into some sort of anti-hero but absolutely fails in doing so. She’s not a likable character, and the attempts to make her endearingly flawed are futile since she’s written in such an annoying, selfish way. The best that the film is ever able to do is elicit a slight bit of pity.
Picture
(L to R) Laverne Cox as Kacy Duke, Katie Lowes as Rachel, Julia Garner as Anna Delvery, Alexis Floyd as Neff Dav. Courtesy of Netflix.
The co-lead of the series doesn’t fare much better. There is a pregnancy subplot, seemingly used to make the audience feel more of a connection to the character, but it doesn’t make her feel any more human. Instead, she serves the plot of the series, only functioning to ask the questions that give the backstory and exposition.

It’s a shame that the performances here are so terrible, because the cast is actually quite talented. Julia Garner plays the lead role in a way that is so annoying that any charm the character may have had is lost on the audience. And the accent she does is atrocious, even sometimes laughable.

There is at least something resembling style here, but it is so wildly inconsistent that it is frustrating. There are some glimpses of interesting things happening, but it’s only a few scenes an episode. The finale is actually the most intriguing part of the series from an artistic standpoint, but the ambitious moments stick out like a sore thumb.

Inventing Anna is truly atrocious in pretty much every way, but it’s the type of bad show that you can’t help but hate watch. It’s like a massive pile-up that keeps racking up more and more carnage, it’s impossible not to stare at it in awe and bewilderment.

Inventing Anna hits Netflix on February 11. All nine episodes reviewed.

Rating: 2/5
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Allison Brown
    Borja Izuzquiz
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Daniel Lima
    Dan Skip Allen
    Erin M. Brady
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About