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Madoff

Madoff (2016)

February. 03,2016
|
7.4
| Drama

The rise and fall of Bernie Madoff, who's Ponzi scheme bilked $65 billion from unsuspecting victims.

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Reviews

Beystiman
2016/02/03

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

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AutCuddly
2016/02/04

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

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Neive Bellamy
2016/02/05

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

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Anoushka Slater
2016/02/06

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

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Jeffrey Young
2016/02/07

These reviews of the documentary mini-series, MADOFF, range from very good to excellent, with but a few average ones. Many of the people are perceptive and far-thinking in their evaluation of the mini-series, the character, Madoff, the real-life Madoff, and the true-life events around him. I am not going to repeat these great reviews.My addition here is the cautionary tale of dangerous sociopaths among humanity. How do we spot them? What can we do? How can we protect ourselves?The answer is that it's not simple. If sociopaths had not been able to hone their pathological lying skills to a fine edge, they wouldn't exist. The fact that they are successful so often underlies their evolutionary chameleon behavioral skills through the Darwinian process of evolution. Even highly intelligent people who have been rooked by Madoff-types beat themselves over the head for being, 'stupid' yet this self-criticism is largely undeserved. Successful con-man Madoff types evolved their slick-talking, smooth-talking sophistry and verbal deception with perfect bodily and facial cues to match to deceive people of high intelligence. After all, it's usually the very smart people who have the money.Remember Lance Armstrong who so vociferously and compellingly denied his doping accusers that even I at first believed him that he was being set up by jealous peers. Remember infamous Susan Smith of 1993 who drowned her two boys in secret and then standing next to her ex-husband, sobbed and pleaded in front of the new cameras for the kidnapper to return her two, cherished, beloved young boys? One news source later dryly added that Smith should have been recommended for a Hollywood Oscar for her bravura performance.I myself have personally witnessed a man who harbored a conscious, Jekyll and Hyde dual persona. To his employees he waved his finger in front of them, bellowed, accused them and demeaned them. To non-employees or potential clients, he portrayed an extremely convincing, soothing, Oprah or Dr. Phil personality as if he could be the best confidant that they could rely upon. He was extremely convincing. Such people are so convincing and they don't emit otherwise negative vibes that might alert the listener that something is amiss.What can you do? Be cautious and do your homework when the promises seem too good to be true. In the case of Madoff, a Wall Street analyst, nearly two years before Madoff's downfall, did suspect that there was something unconvincing about Madoff's investment business model. He ran the complicated math algorithms several times and every time he came up with the same result: Madoff's investment business model could not logically produce the investment gain results that he was publishing. There would have to be an external infusion of funds from outside the business model to make the results plausible. But he was a lone voice in the wilderness. He was a nobody on Wall Street and he had no powerful Wall Street support that could take his results and confront a powerful man that Madoff was at the time. As one imdb poster added, Madoff's white-collar crime actions had ripple effects and domino effects that affected many other people, often innocent. It was his own two sons that contributed to turning Madoff in and cooperated with the SEC and I believe also the FBI, but am not sure. Both men were cleared of being complicit with their father although one did get into some trouble for unknowing helping his father in the Ponzi schemes, but he didn't go to jail. Yet both sons suffered terribly. From well-respected, well-to-do men who once were afforded high social positions in the highest social and economic strata of the rich and powerful in Manhattan, New York City, they found themselves overnight as unemployed, unemployable, social outcasts and pariahs. The health of the eldest son deteriorated and he passed away. The youngest son, at the young age of only 44, separated from his wife, one afternoon went to visit his young son. As the son napped in his bedroom, the father hung himself in the living room. I have no doubt in my mind the father succumbed to the blackest despair that his life was truly over and irretrievable, leading him, in the old term, to, "...take the honorable way out." I don't know if he was even mourned at his funeral.In summary, it is very, very difficult to spot and deal with sociopaths. Often there are, 'functioning sociopaths' who reach high positions in companies, corporations, organizations, the government, even the military. They know who to flatter and how to do flatter while attaching themselves to rising stars. They might be apparent in this overt fashion but their game is good because the people they flatter are convinced the sociopathic flatterer is one of the best talented extroverted people they've ever met. It's one thing to avoid a dangerous sociopath who might harbor intentions of physical harm on you and it's another thing to cope with a functioning sociopath who desires advancement by flattering you, or, if you are not in a position to help him or her, then you are either a nothing to them or worse, a possible competitor. The sociopath's superior lying skills often work successfully in undermining the good, honest employee because the people he or she flatter are convinced he or she is telling the truth.Lastly, I will comment on Madoff that I agree with one poster, Madoff did have sincere feelings of affection and camaraderie with friends, family, and close associates. Sociopaths can and do feel genuine affection to some. In the mini-series Madoff covertly expresses his desire to protect his secretary by declining several times to invest her $200,000 inheritance. He can't reveal the truth to her so he can only shine her on with unconvincing advice which leads the secretary to press him even more, finally accusing Madoff of lacking loyalty and true friendship to her. If I recall, she's even on the brink of tears, baffled as to why her long-term, affectionate employer that she faithfully served for years should not want to take her measly $200K, invest it and make her a millionaire as he's done for so many people. Realizing his secretary has pushed him up against a wall, Madoff realizes it is safer to give in and take her money rather than continue refusing. I felt a lot of sympathy for the secretary. How could she have even suspected that she was literally pouring what could have been a huge chunk of her retirement down the drain, never to be recovered.

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deedee0
2016/02/08

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!

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afijamesy2k
2016/02/09

Out of all of the great TV shows, mini series and TV movies this year, this has got to be the best one this year bar none, Richard dreyfuss in one of the best performances since the goodbye girl back in the 70's, where he won a Oscar for that role, plays Bernie Madoff a man who was sentence to 150 years in prison for tax for running a Ponzi scheme, the teleplay is one of the best teleplays in recent TV history and the performances are all wonderful as always, the writing is crisp, the pacing is great and the editing is marvelous, it's a shame that he wasn't nominated for a emmy for his whole, because he should have been, nevertheless this is definitely the best TV of 2016 bar none I give it my highest rating A+

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vchimpanzee
2016/02/10

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.

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