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.

deedee0 This is by far the best production, documentaries included, of the Madoff story. The script was excellent. The information and plot are easy to follow without being weighed down by boring financial specifics. The major players are represented well and the acting is superb. Dreyfuss, Danner, and Rispoli make De Niro, Pfeiffer, and Azaria look like amateurs! I enjoyed the miniseries so much that I wish there were more episodes!

Charles Herold (cherold) Richard Dreyfuss gives a terrific performance as investment con man Bernie Madoff. He's an interesting character, dishonest to the core yet loyal and generous to his friends, although it's unclear whether he was genuinely generous or just interesting in keeping people loyal.It's fascinating to see the long con and how it unravels, and infuriating and disturbing to watch a lone crusader spend fruitless years trying to convince an inept SEC to investigate one of the great financial criminal.The great weakness of the film is that it overly focuses on Madoff's family, including an ungraceful attempt to use his family history of cancer as a symbol.I understand wanting to show how Madoff's actions hurt his family, and the actors are fine, particularly Blythe Danner (still, surprisingly, sexy in her 70s), but what Madoff did hurt so many more people than his family, and while that is shown, it is overshadowed by the rather dull family stuff.I feel the movie should have focused more on the crusader, or on the incompetence of the SEC. Or it could have just been pared down in length.Still, it's a fascinating story and Dreyfuss is a perfect Madoff.

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.