Madoff

This one’s worth watching for Richard Dreyfus’ performance as the scheming con man, Bernie Madoff.

Dreyfuss somehow refrains from chewing the scenery, though the script at times would have him leaving only flecks of drywall. Scolari has heartbreaking moments as he flounders with guilt. More focus on the personalities of Ruth and Mark, who killed himself on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest, would have fleshed out this story.

Madoff takes the easy route, but what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in a pace that keeps Madoff’s dealings moving at a clip. And while it still won’t explain the inner workings of why we should be enraged by Bernie Madoff’s actions, it still evokes that rage.

The first night of Madoff is both entertaining and instructive.... But the first night ends on a breathless cliffhanger, and Thursday’s concluding night resolves that cliffhanger in a way that made me feel cheated of drama. And the TV movie only proceeds to slide further.

[Richard Dreyfuss] plays Madoff with the exact mix of charm, chutzpah, and extreme denial you would hope for from the notorious fraudster. Madoff is undeniably compelling in the ways it gives its audience the thrill of watching someone flagrantly break the law. But in the end it feels too puffy and cute.

In terms of portraying the numerous subplots surrounding this story, Madoff is a pretty fair juggling act. As for making the tale actually spark to life, that’s a bit of prestidigitation that this straightforward account ultimately can’t muster.

Madoff is a miss, quite unable to measure up either on the outrage/explanation quotient (“The Big Short,” “Too Big to Fail”) or the reveling in billions quotient (“Billions,” naturally, as well as “Wolf of Wall Street”). As a piece of history, the miniseries is hard to follow and a bit too sordid; as a piece of fiction, Madoff feels rushed-off and incomplete.