MovieChat Forums > The Wizard of Lies (2017) Discussion > Not great

Not great

posted 8 years ago by PrimeMinisterX (8857)
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Well, I watched this last night and it's not great.

The story is mostly focused on a short window of time, with a lot of emphasis on how Bernie's actions affected his wife and kids. Robert DeNiro's performance is good, but I can't say if it's much like the real Bernie since I have seen very little of the real Bernie in action. DeNiro chooses to play the role in a way that's not terribly unlike some of the gangster roles he's played in the past.

Should you watch it? Eh. If you're just interested in the Madoff story, or you just like to see DeNiro act, or you have a specific interest in movies about financial crime, then it might be worth a look. But the pacing is slow, the tone is unceasingly dour and all in all the film is just not that interesting.

Barry Levinson, who has directed some good films in the past like Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man, and Wag the Dog, is a talented filmmaker, but this isn't his best work.

5.5/10

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

Eh, well thanks for the warning. It sounded good. Now I'll know to lower my expectations if I get around to watching it.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 8 years ago

Apparently last year ABC did a project with Richard Dreyfuss as Bernie Madoff. Just watching the trailer, it looks a lot more entertaining. I might check it out tonight to compare.

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uAG0jiDVCI

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

Thanks for the link. That does look good. I'm wary of network TV, but this has a good cast and the trailer looks promising. I'll be interested to hear what you think of it.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 8 years ago

I'll check it out and report back.

I can understand your trepidation regarding network TV, but every once in a while they produce something good. I watch very little on the non-cable networks, but I did enjoy Sleepy Hollow (first season), Wayward Pines (first season), Hannibal, This is Us and Parenthood. And going back a little farther in time, I also have to mention X-Files and Twin Peaks.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 8 years ago

If you're interested, I watched Madoff and did a short write-up here:

https://moviechat.org/tt4035574/Madoff/5927164c7e888d0011cad1ba/Better-than-Wizard-of-Lies

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[–] exatera (3966) 8 years ago

To me it the film absolutely WAS great precisely because it focused on how Madoff's actions affected those closest to him. I thought it was really powerful.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 8 years ago

Well everyone has different taste I suppose, but I felt like it was slow and plodding and just not very interesting.

I would've liked to have seen a broader overview of his operation: how he got started in finance in the first plays, the early days of the firm, etc. I want to see the good times before it all came tumbling down to get a fuller understanding of the big picture and also to feel like I watched a well-rounded story.

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[–] exatera (3966) 8 years ago

That would have required a miniseries, though, not a 2-hour movie.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 8 years ago

Depends on how they did it, I think. I felt like this film just kept saying the same thing over and over and over. I was like, "Okay, I got it."

You may be right that it couldn't be done in a 2 hour movie, but maybe a 2 1/2 hour movie. Scorsese was able to do it with Wolf of Wall Street, a three hour movie that some felt like it could've been trimmed down to 2 1/2.

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[–] slimone (7996) 7 years ago

You have it right exatera! How many people were affected by his Ponzi scheme? Millions! Including me, who fortunately was able to get out of the stock market in time.

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[–] stickman38 (3439) 5 years ago

I do think a little buildup to the story would have made this a better movie but I thought it was still good film-making. I didn't really like the dark overtones of the film though. It was tough to watch, you just know this is not going to end well but that is what happened in real life.

However, I was expecting it to be a little more like a biography since that is one category they put it under but it's more of a really dark family drama piece. I might even call it a hit job on the Madoffs. Still, I'd give it about a 6/10 as well.... but if you know the story and what eventually happens to his family, you probably don't need to see this.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 5 years ago

I adjusted my score downward just a notch to 5.5. I really think it was a misstep. The film had no energy and altogether just wasn't very interesting.

As I mentioned elsewhere in the thread, ABC did a mini-series around the same time, and I watched it also and thought it was much better. While it doesn't have the production values of HBO, the storytelling was superior. If you can track it down, it might be interesting to compare.

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