'Inventing Anna' on Netflix

[beaglelover]

Just started it last night and it's GOOD!!!! Very entertaining!

[RainCaster]

1. What's it about? (no spoilers, please)

Inquiring minds want to know...

[beaglelover]

5. It's produced by Shonda Rhimes (sp?)

It's about a young woman in her mid 20s who was able to con a lot of influential people out of money and other things. It starts with her arrest and then tells the story as she's interviewed by a lady who works for a magazine and is doing a profile on her. There are a lot of familiar faces in the cast. Great production value. Can't wait to watch more tonight. Here's the trailer.

[Ocelot II]

6. It's about a young woman who insinuates herself into New York society

and cons people who should have known better into thinking she's got a great investment opportunity, and of course disaster ensues. It's based on a true story.

[RainCaster]

8. That sounds like fun!

Mrs RC and I have it on our list. We'll start it when we get back home next week. Thanks for the info!

[Ocelot II]

2. That was a good one!

Though I don't get how Anna was able to con so many people; she was pretty obnoxious.

[LT Barclay]

28. Kind of like an orange buffoon?

[doc03]

3. I keep passing that up I will have to watch it. nt

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

4. I liked it...

After seeing Julia Garner's portrayal of Ruth Langmore on Ozark, I'm actively seeking out anything she does. This lady has serious acting chops!

[NJCher]

30. the friend who

suggested Inventing Anna to me told me she's fantastic in Ozark. I want to watch it because I agree she is an exceptionally talented actress, however, I am afraid to watch it because of what I've heard is some pretty ugly violence in the beginning of that series.

Nothing will get me to turn off the television faster than violence.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

31. Yeah, you probably wouldn't like Ozark...

It's quite violent.

[yellowdogintexas]

32. not just the beginning. All the way through the series

It may have more violence than Sopranos or Breaking Bad. There are some seriously BadAss characters in that show.

[Mme. Defarge]

7. Just finished episode 6

which was filmed at the Hotel Mamounia in Marrakesh, where I happened to have a brief career as a singer in the hotel’s newly opened nightclub in 1969. For moi, it was quite an adventure, and when I got back home I met my future husband within a year and went on to live a quiet life.

[PittBlue]

10. Wow...that must have been an interesting time for you!

What an adventure that must have been.

[3catwoman3]

11. Therein lies a tale, perhaps?

How did you come to be there, and do you still sing?

[Mme. Defarge]

12. In 1968 I was a college student

who was selected to to participate in a study abroad program offered by the Experiment in International Living program, which was affiliated with the Peace Corps, with a 2 week orientation program in Brattleboro, Vermont. There I had a crash course in Moroccan Arabic, which was distinctly different from my 2 years of courses in “newspaper” Arabic and a 1 year course in the Egyptian dialect. And, of course, I had studied French.

I had a college friend who had gone to Tunisia on the same program the year before and had had a very successful experience, but now it was 1968 and the University of Rabat students were on strike, in sympathy with the student strikes in France. So, after a 1 month stay with a family in Fez, I, and my three fellow American students, headed for Rabat, where the arrangements for us to live in student housing had been botched and no courses were being taught due to the strike.

What to do? The four of us rented an apartment in Rabat above a grocery store and went to the American Embassy for whatever help might be had. We were told to take out our allotted spending money in full, and, when it was gone, to just go home to the States.

Had I not met a brilliant jazz guitarist performing at a chic little Italian bistro in Rabat (La Mamma) https://duckduckgo.com/?q=La+Mamma+Rabat&t=iphone&ia=images&iax=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia-cdn.tripadvisor.com%2Fmedia%2Fphoto-s%2F16%2F9b%2F8f%2F76%2Fphoto1jpg.jpg
and told him I had done some singing back home, and then auditioned for him the next day and performed with him that night and every night after that, I would have gone home along with my American roommates.

When he was hired to perform in the newly opened nightclub at the Hotel Mamounia in Marrakesh, I went with him. After a month and a half I was ready to head for home because my situation was starting to feel unsafe. Which is another story.

Anyway, thank you for asking. And, no, I stopped singing after I got married.

[llmart]

13. I am enjoying the series but...

for some reason I don't find her accent authentic. It seems like she slips into a Southern accent every so often, probably left over from Ozark. However, she really is a good actress and the show is engaging.

[intrepidity]

14. Exactly the same issue I'm having

It is very bothersome and distracting.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

15. Have you watched an interview with the real Anna?

She does a pretty good job trying to get to that mix of nonsense.

[beaglelover]

17. I just watched the 60 minutes story on her.

She’s a very interesting character in real life. She’s out of jail now and honestly does not believe she ever committed a crime. She also said she’s very glad she spent time at Rikers. She said she would never want to take that experience away from her life. Interesting. The story ended with her back in jail in NJ awaiting deportation.

[intrepidity]

21. What was the date for the 60 Minutes episode, please? TIA. nt

[beaglelover]

24. It was 60 Mintues Australia, not the USA version of 60 minutes. Here's the story.....

[Laura PourMeADrink]

18. Read " so bad it's good". But I think it's hideous :(

Such a great actress. Maybe it's script too. Yikes she makes reporter look like Meryl Streep

But hopefully can soldier through it. Got poor ratings

[Cuthbert Allgood]

20. Anna Chlumsky was nominated for 6 Emmys in her career so far

so it's not like she sucks.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

22. Wow, I believe it. She's a natural.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. That said 33% avg audience score RT. I also think her

Crew of reporters helping her WAY overacted. But might have been script.

[wryter2000]

16. Looks great

Adding it to my list. I especially love series so I can be with them for a while.

[SharonClark]

19. Stopped watching after the first episode.

How that woman grifted anyone is surprising - she's utterly without charm.

[Binkie The Clown]

25. It got more interesting with each pasing episode. I loved it. nt

[babylonsister]

26. We're slowly slogging through it; both of us

find it pretty boring. I think the director must have tried to lengthen this mini-series; did not do it any service, imo.

[milestogo]

27. I thought the acting was great.

But the story is hard to believe. Anna is self-centered and obnoxious - she has a major personality disorder and no redeeming qualities. She's not even charming.

I found it hard to believe that the journalist and the defense attorney were still so interested in her welfare at the end. It was clear by then that she had no remorse and no insight whatsoever into her plight.

[NJCher]

29. I found that improbable, too

I mean, we are talking about New York City. People are savvy about cons.

I kept wondering why the lawyer kept going on her case. Maybe I missed it, but how was he getting paid? Furthermore, he was under some pressure from his wife regarding the amount of time and effort he put into the case.

After all that poor Vanity Fair journalist went through, she was still concerned about Anna. I don't get it.

OTOH, if you read up on this, you find that this journalist got 3 or 4 payments of around $350,000 each for writing her book, My Friend Anna. She subsequently came out of it OK.

I got the book. It is well written and entertaining.