Madoff the Monster of Wall Street is a new Netflix documentary series. Directed by Joe Berlinger, the docuseries is based on the financial Ponzi scheme fraudster Bernie Madoff. There are 4 episodes of more than an hour.
The synopsis reads, “Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street reveals the truth behind Bernie Madoff’s infamous $64 billion-dollar global Ponzi scheme, the largest in history, that shattered the lives of countless individual investors who had placed their trust in the revered Wall Street statesman.”
Madoff the Monster of Wall Street Review Contains Mild Spoilers
When it comes to Netflix documentaries, the name that’s behind some popular ones in recent times is Joe Berlinger. He is the man behind Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer, Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes and many others. His first 2023 docuseries for Netflix is based on one of the largest Ponzi Scheme scandals in the history of the US, done by Bernard Lawrence Madoff.
In the 4 episodes series, Joe Berlinger takes us chapter by chapter about who Bernard, aka Bernie Madoff, was, his background, his initial steps to get a place in the Wall Street and business world, his Ponzi schemes, his victories, and his downfall. The first episode begins with the guests shortly briefing us about Bernie and everything he managed to pull off for years.
Bernie Madoff, born on April 29, 1938, hailed from Queens’ Jewish neighbourhood of Laurelton. He grew up in a middle-class family but always knew his way with money. Bernie married his childhood sweetheart Ruth Alpert, now Ruth Madoff, which proved quite beneficial. Initially, Bernie even took money from his father-in-law to build his idea and show his business legitimacy.
The most prominent guest in the series is Diana B Henriques, the author of The Wizard of Lies. She helps us understand the sinister mind of Bernie even more. In the series, we learn how Madoff succeeded in pulling off the world’s most shocking Ponzi scheme. He would take money from one investor and would pay them off by taking it from another investor. No one questioned why he didn’t use the legal methods or didn’t care about the investment growth or profit before taking or giving money.
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The docuseries also gives us an insight into how he started Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC, his legal trade business on the 19th floor of the Lipstick Building in Midtown Manhattan and the illegal business on the 17th floor of the same building. Not many were aware of his illicit activities and financial frauds on the 17th floor, including his sons Mark and Andrew.
We learn how Madoff had a trustworthy team to pull off such a big financial scandal during the 70s, 80s, 90s and the early 2000s. He was backed by his brother Peter Madoff and finance chief Frank DiPascali. One of the biggest investors in Bernie’s Ponzi scheme was Jeffry Picower. In detail, with the help of the guests, who consist of authors, investigative journalists, officers and whistleblowers, we are told everything that led to the $64 billion financial fraud.
The documentary series also feature the victims of Bernie’s Ponzi scheme. They suffered excruciatingly. One day, they thought they had put money into something to help them grow financially. But suddenly, everything came crashing down, and many lost their hard-earned life savings and homes.
The docuseries often emphasise how Bernie Madoff didn’t have any emotional reaction to his actions or his 150 years of prison sentence. It seemed as if he didn’t think he wronged people. But his family and his victims suffered worse than anyone could’ve imagined. For Joe Berlinger, it is a big shift to make a documentary about a financial serial killer from his usual human serial killer projects. It is understood the need for recreation for the latter.
But in MADOFF: The Monster of Wall Street, the recreation scenes with an actor as Bernie added no value. It was always on mute and didn’t showcase any major scenes. What does it take up more time, increasing the length of the series? When the story is this mind-boggling and scandalous, there is no need for dramatisation. It makes no sense considering there is footage shown when Madoff was arrested and he’s confessing to his crimes.
MADOFF: The Monster of Wall Street Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, the first docuseries of 2023 on Netflix is a mixed bag. The series starts with overwhelming facts and jargon that one might need help to get. The dramatisation is also a big put-off. But once the entire scandal gets unfolded, you are hooked. You will be appalled to see how a man fooled thousands of investors and big names from the business world.
The series is now streaming on Netflix.
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