The following review makes reference to the 2017 film The Wizard of Lies, and does not contain spoilers of any type.

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Year: 2017 Category: Drama. Director: Barry Levinson. Cast: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alessandro Nivola, Hank Azaria, Nathan Darrow, Kristen Connolly, Kathrine Narducci.

Plot

Bernie Madoff, stockbroker and financial advisor, was arrested in 2008 for being the author of the largest economic fraud in US history and that he developed a scam with profound and tragic consequences throughout the planet.

Opinion

Bernard Madoff, what he did is no secret to anyone, one of the biggest frauds in history, billions of dollars involved, personal enrichment, fame and prestige in the world of high finance, all under the foundation of a structured Ponzi scheme very fragile that could fall at any time, but did not do it until he pleaded guilty himself.

Is that what this movie about Madoff is trying to tell us? Yes, but not completely. The film focuses more on explaining the reasons why Madoff made the scam, and how the discovery of the scam affected his family and himself, instead of delving into the methodology and practices that he carried out for years.

Everything that has to do with the mechanism of the scam is shown in a very superficial way, with vague explanations that do not allow the viewer to understand exactly what was happening under the table. In fact, Madoff's position is relieved, by showing him as a simple hustler, never tries to show that his scam could probably involve bribes or extortion to specific people, but the scam is shown from a position where practically two people knew the truth, and the rest was simply swindled, which is very unbelievable considering not only the magnitude of the scam and its prolongation in time, but also the very nature of the scam.

But that's just the smallest part of the film, which tries to show the Madoff family as another of its victims, and not as accomplices, in such a way that we see the version of the story told by Bernard Madoff, and in turn, also shows how supposedly this episode of his life changed everything not only for him but for all those who were related to him.

The direction is acceptable, the script does not convince me, I think they could have fascinated the audience by telling the details of the Madoff scam and they did not, but preferred to delve into Madoff's personality and family drama, with which , of course, it is very difficult to sympathize, but at least thanks to the interpretation of Robert De Niro is acceptable.

In conclusion, if you want to see this movie with the purpose of knowing more details about the scam, you will not find what you are looking for here, however, if you want to see a family and personal drama in which the greedy actions of a person affect the life of his loved ones, then, this movie is for you.

Trailer

Score

6/10

Acceptable, but not enough, I expected to see more about the scam issue and I feel that they showed very little about it and from an inaccurate angle.