The Wizard of Lies

The Wizard of Lies
Television release poster
Based on	The Wizard of Lies by Diana B. Henriques
Written by	Sam Levinson Sam Baum John Burnham Schwartz
Directed by	Barry Levinson
Starring	Robert De Niro Michelle Pfeiffer Alessandro Nivola Hank Azaria Nathan Darrow Kristen Connolly Kathrine Narducci Diana B. Henriques
Music by	Evgueni Galperine Sacha Galperine
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Joseph E. Iberti
Cinematography	Eigil Bryld
Editor	Ron Patane
Running time	132 minutes
Production company	HBO Films
Release
Original network	HBO
Original release	May 20, 2017 (2017-05-20)

The Wizard of Lies is a 2017 American television biopic film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Sam Levinson, Sam Baum, and John Burnham Schwartz,^[1] based on the 2011 non-fiction book of the same name by Diana B. Henriques. The film stars Robert De Niro as businessman and fraudster Bernie Madoff, Michelle Pfeiffer as his wife Ruth Madoff, and Alessandro Nivola as their older son Mark Madoff. It aired on HBO on 20 May 2017.

Plot[]

The plot of the film is based on real events—the story of Bernard Madoff, who founded his company on Wall Street in the early 1960s, which, over time, turned into one of the largest investment funds. Madoff himself had enjoyed a reputation as a successful and influential financier, broker, financial consultant, and generous philanthropist until 2008 when it became known that over the past 16 years his firm had turned into the largest Ponzi scheme in history. The huge scandal that broke out turned into multibillion-dollar losses and led to the collapse of Madoff himself, who later received 150 years in prison.

Cast[]

Production[]

On August 27 2015, Michelle Pfeiffer and Alessandro Nivola joined the film to play wife Ruth Madoff and older son Mark Madoff, respectively.^[1] On September 9 2015, Hank Azaria joined the film as Frank DiPascali.^[2] On September 10 2015, Nathan Darrow, Kristen Connolly, Kathrine Narducci, and Steve Coulter were cast as Andrew Madoff, Stephanie Madoff, Eleanor Squillari, and Martin London, respectively. Diana B. Henriques was also cast as herself.^[3] On 11 September 2015, Lily Rabe was cast as Catherine Hooper.^[4]

Principal photography on the film began on August 31 2015, in New York City.^[5]

John Burnham Schwartz, Sam Baum and Sam Levinson were credited as the film's writers.^[6] Diana Henriques’s The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and The Death of Trust, and Laurie Sandell’s Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family were credited as additional source material.

Reception[]

Critical response[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 73%, based on 52 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Wizard of Lies doesn't really shed much new light on its fact-based story, but thanks to solid direction and a talented cast, it still proves consistently watchable."^[7] On Metacritic, the film has a normalized score of 67 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "favorable reviews".^[8] The film has a three-star rating on the Roger Ebert website, with the reviewer praising De Niro's performance.

Ratings[]

The film's premiere drew 1.5 million viewers, making it HBO's largest premiere viewership for an HBO film in four years; additional replays and viewings through the network's streaming service brought the film's total viewers to 2.4 million for its premiere weekend.^[9]

Awards and nominations[]

Soundtrack[]

The Wizard of Lies (Music from the HBO Film) was released digitally May 19, 2017, the day before the film's premiere.^[10]

See also[]

• Madoff (miniseries)
• Pyramid scheme

References[]

External links[]

• The Wizard of Lies at IMDb