Anyone else watching "Madoff?"
ABC has done a good job with this one. Richard Dreyfuss should win an Emmy for this performance.
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So glad I did, too, although I missed the debate w/Bernie and Hillary. I found that at youtube, though, and watched it today.
It was amazing how Dreyfuss turned himself into Madoff. He looked so much like him that it was scary! I also thought Blythe Danner did a good job on Ruth. There was a certain awkwardness in the way Ruth walked, and Danner captured even that.
This is a story I followed from its inception. I was completely fascinated by how Madoff was able to pull this off over such a long period of time. I read numerous books about it, too.
I liked how the movie portrayed the actual mechanics of the scheme, with the two accomplices. Wasn't the scene with the secretary hilarious, when she was clicking the computer screen? And also how the guy accomplice made up all that paperwork--even the computer portal.
Cher
I know I read she was getting by with a 25-year old Honda. Checks out books from the library for something to do. Goes to the beach by herself.
Another observation of her was that she didn't esp'ly care for the money. It said she would have been happy with Bernie even if he'd been something like a teacher.
The thing that is puzzling is why she went for him at all. In one of the books I read, she was termed very, very smart (math her specialty) and came from a family of means. In his school years, Bernie was just a schlub. Nobody could figure out what she saw in him.
Cher
Here's the link to watch the full movie online, in case anyone's interested.
http://abc.go.com/shows/madoff
Also, see this link for an interview with Dreyfuss:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017327120
Cher
Amazon Prime put out the documentary, "Chasing Madoff" free for Prime members. So, I had to see what the miniseries got right & wrong. Turns out, they did a great job, telling the story. Usually, I prefer Documentaries, to TV & Film, telling a true story; but this time, the miniseries wins it. Not to say, the documentary isn't worth watching. It features the story, of the guy who discovered, Madoff was running a ponzi scheme, over "who was the real Madoff". Who knows, I could have had Madoff fatigue, by the time I watched the doc; so that's why, I thought the miniseries was better.
Anywho, both are worth watching. You can watch the miniseries, on Hulu & the documentary, on Amazon Video.
peace y'all!
Rev. OG 
(my first DU post...I just wanted to get 1 in, before I started watching NBA basketball, tonight)
FYI:
🔥Feel The Bern on SNL tonight 🔥
check out the Bernie Sanders group on the left under Democrats.
You and I are two of a kind--I always prefer documentaries, and I have a hard time even watching fiction. But in this case, the dramatization was excellent.
However, I have not yet watched "Chasing Madoff," and since I have Amazon Prime, I will definitely be watching. I think my Madoff reading festival ended about the time that came out, so I missed the fact that an entire film was about my hero Markopoulos (well, he was my hero then; now my hero is Bernie, but regardless...).
Markopoulos is my idea of a highly evolved human being. He worked so hard to bring this fraudster to the attention of the authorities, but the authorities were having none of it. His mathematical proof took a lot of heavy-duty brain work and research. He had his act together, but it just wasn't enough--because the system is corrupted. Didn't it just kill you in the film how all the agency had to do was make one phone call about his account--and they couldn't even do that. (disgust)
Cher
This is a tragedy all the way around. Both sons dead: one of lymphoma, the other of suicide. Madoff's brother Peter serving a 10-year sentence. For a time, Ruth was cut off from contact with the grandchild. Her son cut her off because she stood by Bernie after he revealed what he did. They thought she should have left him immediately.
Madoff probably is the best off, as he is a sociopath with no feelings of guilt.
I cannot imagine the disappointment and feeling of betrayal that Ruth must have.
There is one thing about Ruth that I find inexcusable. After she knew about the fraud, she still went through on the purchase of a jacket that was something like 2 or 3 thousand dollars, IIRC. She knew that was OPM (other people's money), and she should have canceled the transaction, but she didn't.
Another thing they did is try to hold on to ownership of various expensive watches and jewelry. I believe Ruth mailed them out to her sons.
Cher
