PWNYCNY This series chronicles a tragedy. A man who is flawed invites disaster to others, and especially to his family. Bernard Madoff did not start out as swindler, but became one. To the movie's credit, it offers a candid and plausible portrayal of the disaster that became Bernard Madoff's life. One comes away from this movie asking: How could he have gotten away with it for so long? Madoff didn't make any special efforts to conceal his activities. He banked the money in a major bank, was audited by government agencies, and his clients were sophisticated investors. Yet, it was only after being turned in by his own sons that the Madoff swindle finally stopped. Richard Dreyfus gives one of the great performances of his career as Bernard Madoff, and Blythe Danner is equally convincing as Ruth. The movie avoids demonizing Madoff, instead portraying him as someone caught up in a process that he could not stop. He knew what he was doing was wrong and kept doing it anyway, as long as he could get away with it. It's what happens when his world begins to crumble that provides the drama and the lessons. As the movie shows, Madoff was not operating in a vacuum. He was operating in the open. As long as his customers and enablers were profiting, no questions were asked. It was only after the scheme collapses and people are losing money that Madoff gets in trouble. And for that, he paid the price.

vchimpanzee I didn't know that much about Bernie Madoff, except that he had supposedly cheated people out of millions of dollars. Actually, it was billions.But right away Richard Dreyfuss made this supposedly evil man look like a great guy. You have to like him. He had his clients' best interests at heart, but he knew what he was doing would be frowned on by the SEC and the federal government. And yet he had been doing this since the 1960s--making big money for people regardless of what the market was doing.And it became quickly apparent that Bernie cared about his family. A loving wife who had only a vague idea that her husband's dealings weren't quite legal. Two sons, one more uptight than the other, who like Sgt. Schultz knew NOTHING (at least that's how the movie portrays it). A brother who has some knowledge that Bernie's activities aren't what they should be, but is kept pretty much out of the picture.Dreyfuss does a fantastic job. I might even say Emmy-worthy. Most of the time Bernie is quite charming and a good guy. He can get quite angry when pushed. Knowing investigators are this close to putting him away, he seems quite vulnerable. And this last part is shown quite effectively with rapid-fire editing. The sound stays consistent but we keep seeing the nightmare Bernie thinks is coming, or flashbacks, or whatever, in addition to what is happening now. And this editing technique is used several times.Michael Rispoli is very good as the man in charge of the 17th floor. I should mention that the legitimate business operated from fabulous modern offices where everyone dressed for success on the 19th floor, where the employees included the brother and two sons. Mark resented that Frank got the promotion he deserved, but Bernie would not let his sons get mixed up in the illegal activities on the dark, depressing 17th floor where it was always Casual Friday.Ben Dreyfuss effectively showed us a charming and ambitious but not particularly endearing young Bernie in flashbacks. He showed how Benrie learned to do what he did.Blythe Danner is a loving, caring wife, until ... and then wait until you see what she's like. A very good job with a wide range of emotions. Erin Cummings is impressive as the loyal secretary. She seems out of place with the New Yawk accent in these plush offices, but she is quite appealing.Peter Scolari used to be so funny, but he's mostly serious here, which he has become good at in recent years. He really shows his ability when brother Peter's son gets very sick, and Peter starts feeling guilty about what he knows he has done wrong. And we have to go through the hard times with the family.There are happy times with the family as well, which makes up for the difficulties. But of course watching Bernie wine and dine and otherwise impress his billionaire clients (soon to be broke in some cases) is lots of fun. One of them is in West Palm Beach and the big band music in the scenes there is great. Frank Whaley is the man who started the process of bringing down Bernie Madoff. Since some situations and people are fictional, we don't know if he's real or not, but it doesn't matter. He is a brilliant investigator who lacks people skills and is often quite nervous. People don't take him seriously, and even when they do, Bernie has the ability to talk himself out of the situation. Or government officials are just morons. It doesn't matter. It's all quite entertaining. You want Bernie to win, but you know something is bound to happen.And when it does, it really does. There goes that rapid-fire editing again, this time with the sound matching the visuals.In one sequence the people are either real victims of Bernie Madoff or they are very good actors.Also effective is the apparent use of real ABC News anchors reporting on the scandal. Dreyfuss appeared on the TV screen during the closing credits, at least when I watched, to invite us to watch the real story coming up next, and to praise the talented actors and writers whose work we just saw, and I agree with him. Like him or not, I think this movie is a winner.

phd_travel For a movie about Madoff the main thing is the story has to be linear, non confusing and thorough and this 2 part miniseries succeeds. It introduces enough characters one by one to show the major players in the scandal, how the business duped clients and how it came crashing down. It isn't too complicated so non finance people can roughly understand what happens. Madoff is made to be the narrator of the movie and it helps to make things clear. Victims, clients, whistle blowers, the SEC dropping the ball, and the perpetrators in Madoff's company are all shown. The look at what happened in Madoff's own family is quite fascinating. His wife kids brother niece are all shown to be unknowing victims. The tragic suicide of his son Mark is quite moving. Would have liked a bit more about the recovery of the stolen money at the end.The acting is fine. With so much going on in the story the main thing is that they should resemble the real people sufficiently. Richard Dreyfuss looks enough like Madoff and his benign slightly jovial approach actually is quite right. It keeps things flowing and not too depressing. Blythe Danner is physically suited to the role of Ruth. The actors who play his sons are don't look like them much - not great casting there. The supporting cast are good too especially those who play his staff.Will be interesting to compare to to the upcoming HBO movie with Robert DeNiro as Madoff. There was a follow up ABC documentary with interviews called "Bernie Madoff after the fall" that aired after the end of part 2 that is worth watching.

MovieHoliks Wow; this is the closest thing I've seen to an ABC "movie of the week" in ages! I watched the first half of this two-part mini-series last night. The second half- "The Fall"- airs tonight. Oscar-winning screen legend, Richard Dreyfuss, plays the financial guru/con artist in this semi-biopic; but mostly covers the events leading up to, and tonight, following, his downfall. I saw a review online that said this movie almost makes you root for Bernie, and it does to an extent. It's actually quite humorous; although at times I get the feeling I'm laughing at parts that weren't meant to be funny-?? LOL Peter Scolari and Blythe Danner co-star.