Chasing Madoff (2010)
A look at how one investigator spent ten years trying to expose Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme that scammed an estimated $18 billion from investors.
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Best movie of this year hands down!
Memorable, crazy movie
Absolutely Fantastic
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Read works of Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn and Gore Vidal. Then, if you comprehend, you will understand the quality and appropriateness of this documentary. I live near Boston, and therefore understand the culture Harry Markopolos grew up under. Why some citizens get it, and some don't is exactly the problem with education in the US. Study linguistics. Read or listen to the book Manufacturing Consent for a good education on what controls your thinking. Ask why did the SEC not act upon this? The specialized class has us all under a tractor beam - if you chose to do nothing. This is not new information in any way. You just may have missed it when it was first published. Thank you!
As massive as the scheme was, so massive is the greatness of this documentary! Anyone who wondered about what happened will be informed, educated, amazed, and mind-blown! The saddest part was near the end when Markopolos and the other whistle blowers realized that the scheme hurt so many "common" people, not just the big guys. When you analyze things, you realize that the world economy is based on TRUST... in each other in our personal transactions, in businesses, institutions, and government and when that trust is to VILELY violated, the entire system suffers. Rebuilding that trust in the aftermath will take many careful years. But it is both ironic and somewhat self-satisfying to know that ultimately the scheme was blown by the pressures of the market itself. Markopolos and all of us must stand firm in the faith of the FREE AND OPEN marketplace to weed out the evil and corrupt. This documentary is a MUST SEE!
I think Madoff is terrible and did a terrible thing, but this documentary is just horrible. This documentary is NOT about chasing Madoff; it is 95% Markopolos talking about how he feared for his life, always carried fire arms, checked under his minivan for bombs, while he simultaneously tried to make money replicating Madoff's (fake) investment strategy and held meetings where he tried to steal clients away from Madoff using similar (apparently legitimate) investment strategies. Most of the other 5% is comprised of flash-cuts to dead gangsters, funeral processions, and guns - in a melodramatic yet unbelievable ploy to convince us that his life was at risk (which apparently was all in Markopolis's head and never shown to be even close to true). This doc is totally over-the-top and makes Markopolos look like a paranoid loser who really really really wants people to think he is a bad-ass former soldier and David to Madoff's Goliath - neither of which are true (other than he was in the Army reserves). He comes across as a man on a mission to bring down Madoff not for the benefit of society or Madoff's victims, but to gain notoriety, fame, and hopefully fortune. He states that he was scared for his life and for his family, yet he kept making babies during his entire crusade. Would someone who was really scared for his family seriously keep creating new members to have to protect?? This doc is the equivalent of a third-rate desk jockey during the Iraq War telling everyone five years after its over that he was Rambo and lead a small band of special forces soldiers that brought down Sadam with no help from others. I thought I was going to watch a doc about Madoff's fall from grace; instead I watched 1.5 hours of a paranoid, melodramatic, hypocritical, armchair quarterback trying to convince the world how awesome he is. What a waste of time.
Never have I seen a film misdirected so well. Director Jeff Prosserman's comedy staring buffoon Harry Markopolos draws influence from Tommy Wiseau's THE ROOM. Why was Prosserman's vision not assessed by functioning adults? This film is indicative of everything wrong in documentary filmmaking today. Personally I was sad to have witnessed such a cinematic holocaust. Don't waste your time! Prosserman clearly has no idea what he's doing. If you look at Prosserman's previous work you'll find similar reviews. Emblematic of Canadian cinema, Chasing Madoff fails to meet the sufficient requirements to entertain an audience. If you're into watching films where the director has no clue where he is, what's going on or what he's doing, this film is right up your alley.