As for the movie that HBO premiered on May 20, I am already a lucky early adopter. Although due to film source issues, I had to re-click every three minutes. That's right, in two days, I clicked on, paused, exited, and clicked on again. After 180 clicks on the remote control, I finally watched the movie. Up to now, I still think that such frequent and complicated operation methods have not affected my good impression of this movie, even though my fingers are a little tired.
"The Wizard of Lies" (The Wizard of Lies)-The film tells about Bernard Madoff (Bernard Madoff)-the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history manipulated to defraud investors of $65 billion and was sentenced to 150 years later Imprisoned, the eldest son committed suicide, and the second son died of cancer, breaking contact with his wife.
Imagine that suddenly one day, we discovered that the creator and absolute authority of a certain field turned out to be a complete liar, and he is still a close family member who has lived with you for decades, and everything you have now comes from him. Undoubtedly, this can't just be described as shock, it's almost a step into the endless darkness. At a loss, just the most obvious state. So, his wife Lucy went around the kitchen cluelessly looking for matches. Because her husband has been her only support and umbrella for fifty years, from mutual support to dignity. For this woman who is nearly 70 years old, the next life is like the box of matches that can't be found. It's there, but where is it?
Compared with the wife's confusion, the behavior of the two sons is better understood. Bernie confessed everything to his family. After getting the lawyer's advice, his youngest son Andy came forward and proactively reported his father's fraud. After being shocked and at a loss, Andy sensibly chose the only thing he could do at the moment, because for them all of this really had nothing to do with them. Everyone was kept in the dark for sixteen years. Even when the brothers mentioned to their father many times that they wanted to become partners and get involved in the company's overall business, the answer they got always refused. I believe this is Bernie’s firewall, and he does not hesitate to block the contact between his family and business, in order to protect them from a good death on the Last Judgment Day.
Outside the court is the news media that chases and intercepts, and in the court are the victims of bankruptcy. All the accusations and all the counts are pronouncing the countless crimes committed by the biggest liar in history. Bernie’s nine consecutive "guilt" nailed himself to the pillar of shame in history, and the moment he turned around to face the victim, I believe he was sincere, at least in this situation, no need to play word games, give Fight for even the slightest leeway for yourself. Up to this point, I have been thinking, Bernie finally decided to confess the reason. Is it because the capital chain is broken or is it because the heart is suffering?
Without any suspense, Bernie was found guilty and sentenced to 150 years in prison. In a way, this is not bad for Bernie. Because he is behind bars, he no longer needs to be surrounded by the news media and all walks of life. But all this did not end, but the spear turned to the family of his wife and two sons. The eldest son is separated and the younger son is attacked by a former employee of the company. Even the 8-year-old granddaughter has been sued for money recovery. Just because it's Bernie's family, they have to bear all the pressure, even if they don't know anything about Bernie's behavior. It is strange that in such a difficult situation, the families of the same victims did not support each other, but broke off contact with each other in order to protect themselves. So two years after the incident, the eldest son Mark finally could not bear the pressure of public opinion and inner loneliness, and hanged himself on the porch next to his son. The youngest son Andy also died of cancer five years later. Bernie dialed his wife Lucy's phone time and time again in prison, but ended up going from the voice mail to the shutdown.
Did Bernie finally plead guilty? After watching the film, I am still not sure about the question that has no answer in the film. Legally speaking, he was undoubtedly guilty, and admitted and accepted the sentence of almost life imprisonment in court. But deep down in his heart, does he really admit and willing to confess? I can't see it. In many meetings and conversations between Bernie and reporters, he refused to accept the public's comparison of him with the notorious murderer Ted Bundy. And he also asked the reporter if he is an anti-social personality? It is not so much that Bernie is asking the reporter's opinion, it is better to say that this is a question in itself. Deep down in his heart, he did not feel that his actions were heinous. Even if he did, it was just a moment when he faced the individual victims of bankruptcy in court. However, the vast majority of Bernie's clients are Wall Street financial oligarchs, Morgan, Citi, HSBC, UBS, and the super-rich. He mentioned many times that he had reminded clients not to put more than half of their wealth in his fund. But when the market crisis came, he used unnecessarily good flicks to fill the bottomless black hole again and again with more funds. At 65 billion U.S. dollars, the final arrears recovered from auction assets were only 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. Is Bernie squandering huge deficits? Of course it is impossible. Bernie's fund has risen strongly every year at double-digit growth rates for 30 years, even when the stock market was turbulent in 1987. Bloodthirsty Wall Street funds are aimed at profit-seeking. Funds with such good fundamentals will naturally not let go. The supervisor also turns on the green light, and even if there is a temporary investigation, it is still a formality to complete the process. For more than ten years, Bernie, a mansion constructed with lies and false numbers, not only did not collapse, but also elevated him to an unparalleled position. It can be expected that this scam will be far from being discovered if there is no break in the funding chain in 2005, and even now, more victims will use their lifetime savings to fill the high financial gains of oligarchs.
As the perpetrator of this century scam, Bernard Madoff is undoubtedly successful. And Robert De Niro, who plays him, is also an old Hollywood drama player with outstanding merit. His performances have always been introverted and surging, whether it is "The Godfather 2" and "Once Upon a Time in America" when he was young or "Don't mess with me" in recent years. The old opera bones roam freely in the land of black and white, wandering between the clones. I don't know whether old Robert finally saw his last kindness in Bernie, but Bernie obsessed with protecting his family, and repeatedly avoided the reporter's hypothesis that he died unexpectedly. Even if it did happen, it seemed to be destined, and it was no longer relevant to him.
When the youngest son Andy was invited to participate in an exchange at Princeton University, a student asked: "Why don't you explain your difficulties to the media?" Andy replied: "My brother committed suicide for this matter, and my mother was deceived by a loved one. Our entire family bears this burden, but this is only the three of us, and there are thousands of victims of this scam. Compared with them, we are not referring to the role of sympathy. After all, we enjoy wealth and go to the world. Traveling everywhere has this Russian-Chinese privilege." Bernie’s protection is actually useless. The victims are still victims, whether they are investors or family members.
I like the structure and plot design of this movie. For the same major event, if you change the photographer, I am afraid that the entry point will rise to the level of national security, social stability, and international financial fluctuations. The entire case lasted for two years before and after, and the agencies involved in various links such as detection, review and detention did not make too much publicity. Even if there is, it is time and again to torture the lack of supervision and the blind obedience of the industry. The great thing about Hollywood is that no matter what kind of theme, it can start from human nature, no matter whether it is good or not. The difference and uncertainty of human nature just make up for the single theme and type, enrich the connotation of the movie and touch the hearts of the audience.
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