![]() In New York Magazine, writer Jessica Pressler detailed Delvey’s crime spree through the city, capturing in particular the unsettling, moral nihilism of ‘High Society’ and its valorisation of empty, affected mystery that allowed Delvey to thrive. A month before the opening of Ocean’s 8, the very same New York cultural milieu portrayed in the film was enchanted by the story of Anna Delvey, a beloved It Girl who masqueraded as a German heiress, befriended New York’s 1% elite, conned her way into staying into five-star hotels, and kick-started her own arts ‘Foundation’, all the while possessing very little actual wealth. There is something about the female con artist that captivates the public imagination. Helena Bonham Carter as Rose Veil, a has-been fashion designer facing major debt, rounds up the group as Daphne Kluger’s would-be stylist. The duo gathers a crime-committing crew, recruiting stoner hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna) light-fingered thief Constance (Awkwafina) the ‘woman on the inside’, Tammy (Sarah Paulson) and disgruntled jeweller Amina (Mindy Kaling). Debbie convinces Lou to help her execute a heist that has been five years, eight months, and 12 days in the making: stealing a $150 million dollar necklace off the neck of superstar Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) at the prestigious Met Gala in New York. After acquiring a new wardrobe and home base, Debbie makes contact with her original partner-in-crime, the devilishly captivating, pantsuit-loving Lou (Cate Blanchett) who has been busy running an underground alcohol diluting operation. Prison did not, in fact, rehabilitate Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) but rather inflamed her appetite for swindling and revenge. The previous Ocean’s movies featured women as love interests at best and scene decor at worst, but in the latest reboot women are the front-and-centre agents of criminal enterprise the men in their lives are either dopey and irrelevant or outright villains. The film, directed by Gary Ross and co-written by Ross and newcomer Olivia Milch, gives the tongue-in-cheek spirit of the original Ocean’s series a decidedly feminine – and arguably femini st – sheen. Ocean’s 8 is the latest iteration of Hollywood’s recent all-female adaptations of past classics, following reboots of Ghostbusters and upcoming adaptations of Lord of the Flies and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It is only natural, of course, that her first step as a changed woman is to head straight to New York’s finest department store, shoplift an entirely new wardrobe, before stealing a recently-vacated five-star hotel room. And so from Danny’s ashes rises Debbie – the parole board is convinced of her regret for her past actions, and she is released. “My brother, may he rest is peace, is a criminal,” she says ruefully of the original protagonist of the Ocean’s series. At her parole hearing, Debbie reflects on these men, and disavows herself from the chaotic legacies of their bad decisions. ![]() Her slippery ex-boyfriend, the artist Claude Becker – the one whose criminal hijinks sent her here in the first place – has not only escaped police suspicion, but has also become a disgustingly successful society boy. Debbie Ocean has been in prison for five years, eight months, and 12 days.
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