Author: George
Location: Atlanta
Title: Off the Books
Directed by: Billy Ray
Written by: Billy Ray (based on the articles by Erin Arvedlund in “Barron’s”)
Music by: Mychael Danna
Cinematography by: Tak Fujimoto
Production Design by: Beth Mickle
Costumes by: Dinah Collin
Edited by: Jeffrey Ford
Cast:
Dustin Hoffman as Bernie Madoff
Peter Sarsgaard as Mark Madoff
Famke Janssen as Shana Madoff
Jim Broadbent as Peter Madoff
Rebecca Hall as Erin Arvedlund
David Schwimmer as Harry Markopolos
With
Ned Beatty as Charles J. Shapiro
And
Kim Novak as Ruth Madoff
Tagline: “He went for broke in the most dangerous arena…”
Synopsis:
It was only the first day of December and Mark Madoff was already shopping for Christmas presents. New York City was always this beautiful and he always could count on Christmas to bring his family together. But as he was buying a gift with his mother Ruth, Mark got a call from his father. He needed him right away and it could not possibly wait.
Mark went into the living room where his father, Bernie, and his uncle Peter were glued to the television screen. The stock market had just plummeted and investors were running out of money the same as the banks were. Bernie was subtly fuming and ordered his daughter, Shana, to seize all the family’s assets before anyone else could touch him. Mark was confused over what was going on and asked Shana if he could help, but Shana only told him to keep an eye on Bernie, this week was going to be a tough one.
Bernie brings Mark along on a special mission to all their primary investors, but still won’t tell him anything about what’s going on. Mark is stopped by former employee Harry Markopolos as they enter NYSE and tells him that everything his father has worked for is all over and that he will finally be listened to. Bernie keeps his eyes level and informs him that no one listened to him before and no one will now. Harry tries to say something else but Bernie moves closer shutting him up in the process. Mark is confused but follows his father anyway.
Bernie meets up with Shana and Peter to see what exactly is going on and Shana says she can’t explain why their investors can’t withdraw the $7 billion they needed and starts to demand answers. Peter tells her to mind her own business and go back to her SEC husband, but Bernie stops the commotion. He says simply that the less who know about this the better, but does not tell Shana what it is all about. Bernie leaves with Peter, but Shana calls Mark to tell him something is wrong.
Bernie and Mark then go to Carl J. Shapiro, Bernie’s old friend and tells him they are in desperate need. Shapiro, in his 90’s is not quite sure what’s going on and Mark whispers to his father how uncomfortable he feels about all this. Bernie glares at him to shut up and then launches in the story about how they met, with Bernie founding Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1960 and how Shapiro was always there for him. Shapiro remembers the good times and Bernie even has a tear in his eye as well. Shapiro then gives him a total of $250 million. Mark expresses his disdain for his father’s actions, but Bernie explains to him this is what real finance is.
Bernie is in his office and reporter Erin Avredlund comes in, He tells Mark to step outside and he does so with some suspicion. Bernie asks her how many times she has accused him of fraud and she says that she finally has him now, after ten years on his trail. Bernie listens to her berate his company calmly, but then tells her that they are not even close to finished and have more money than she could count, Avredlund smiles and walks out saying that he is finished. Bernie smiles, but it soon fades into a nervous frown. He takes off his glasses and looks out the window, the Manhattan skyline covered with clouds. He looks at his watch and puts his arm on the window, nods slightly and then walks out of his building.
Back at home, Mark sees Harry on the TV talking to all the pundits about how he had warned the SEC and that Madoff is one of the primary reasons why this crash is happening. Bernie turns it off and brings the whole family in the living room with him. He tells them that the wealth management arm of their company is finished and that all of their money is gone. Ruth is incredulous and throws her wine glass at Bernie, Peter the forcibly removes her from the living room as she cries inconsolably and tells them all to shut up about the whole thing. Mark looks at Shana, shocked to see her all too resigned, she looks at him and grimaces, but leaves soon after.
Mark stands up to look Bernie in the eye and forces him to tell him the truth that seemingly everyone else knows. Bernie says simply that the money’s all gone and they can’t get it back. Mark is beside himself and yells at his father. All the people who are going to be broke, all the families that are not going to have money, all the friends he betrayed. Bernie nods and can’t even look at him, but Mark continues, telling him how he implicated his family in all of this and Bernie is finally fed up. He screams about how this has all been for his family, how he has no idea what he has done for them and that he clearly does not know what it takes to be in his position. Mark can’t believe it and attempts to leave, but Bernie gives him a big hug and tells him that he loves him and always will. Mark hugs him back and wants to say something, but Bernie stops him and says just one thing: “Don’t tell anyone, we can get through this.” Mark’s face hardens and he leaves.
The next morning Mark meets with Harry at a café and says he has something to tell him, something big. Harry orders a drink and asks Mark if he wants one. Mark is haggard, tears in his eyes. He hesitates and then agrees.
(Bernard L. Madoff was arrested on December 11th 2008 and sentenced to 150 years in prison. He is still married to Ruth. On December 11th 2010, exactly two years after his father’s arrest, Mark Madoff committed suicide in his New York apartment. He was 46 years old.)
Awards Campaign:
The Crash of 2008 has been great fodder for indie films like “Margin Call” and “Arbitrage”, but it has never been in the hands of such a confident filmmaker like Billy Ray. His previous films “Shattered Glass” and “Breach” have presented highly conflicted and even amoral modern conmen and “Off the Books” is a brilliant third installment in his “disturbed powerful modern men” trilogy with the biggest of them all – Bernie Madoff.
After being responsible for the screenplays of monster hits like “The Hunger Games” and “Captain Phillips”, Ray was finally given a chance to direct again six years after his well-reviewed but under seen “Breach”. Now Ray has a subject all too fitting for him, but does so in a simultaneously close and detached manner – through his son Mark Madoff’s eyes, played brilliantly by Peter Sarsgaard. His disillusionment with his father and then becoming his ultimate undoing plays similarly with his character in “Shattered Glass” and Ryan Phillipe’s in “Breach”. He walks the line between devoted son and informant quite well and is a great introduction into this cutthroat world of finance.
But the film absolutely belongs to Hoffman, whose Madoff is an enigma all the way into the end, but we can grasp how he is truly staring into the heart of darkness. Hoffman is mostly perfectly subtle, his anger bubbling and desperation hidden under a slim veil, but when he finally explodes at the end to his son, we see just how much he has to lose and how selfish he had been in the process. It’s a career-capping performance, one of veteran mastery and one for the ages.
Ray’s screenplay is one meticulously researched and contains enough finance lingo and head-swimming backroom politics to confuse the viewer, but it has a rhythm that implicates the viewer in Madoff’s actions rather than alienates them. We may not know exactly why Madoff did what he did but we can certainly see how and just how much he had to lose.
Technically, the movie is a marvel with Mychael Danna leading the way with a terrific, subtle score quite like his score for “Breach.” Tak Fujimoto is also back for Ray, with terrific cinematography showing the gray Christmas that always surrounds New York as well as Beth Mickle’s cold interiors surrounding Bernie and Mark Madoff. It’s crisply edited by Jeffrey Ford and is expertly crafted around only one day, the first day the market crash was made totally public.
The supporting cast of the film is also astounding, including a surprisingly good David Schwimmer, a particularly villainous performance by Jim Broadbent, but most surprisingly a highly flashy comeback performance by none other than Kim Novak as Bernie’s difficult, quick, and volatile wife Ruth. It’s difficult to say how much is truly Ruth and how much is Novak, but she is supremely effective in the few scenes he is in.
Billy Ray has crafted a film that is not too late or even too incisive, but is rather a harrowing character study seen through the eyes of the son who loved him most. Hoffman makes Madoff maddeningly multifaceted and Sarsgaard makes Mark the prodigal son turned whistleblower. The final text at the end of the film is the most heartbreaking part of the film. Bernard Madoff’s arrest and incarceration are linked exclusively to the suicide of Mark Madoff causing the audience to pause before leaving their seats. “Off the Books” is a riveting portrayal of the wealthiest gone wrong and the perversion of the American Dream by the man who not only won the game, but also wrote the rulebook. One of the best films of the year.
Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Actor – Dustin Hoffman
Best Supporting Actor – Peter Sarsgaard
Best Supporting Actress – Kim Novak
Best Director – Billy Ray
Best Adapted Screenplay – Billy Ray
Best Score
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Location: Atlanta
Title: Off the Books
Directed by: Billy Ray
Written by: Billy Ray (based on the articles by Erin Arvedlund in “Barron’s”)
Music by: Mychael Danna
Cinematography by: Tak Fujimoto
Production Design by: Beth Mickle
Costumes by: Dinah Collin
Edited by: Jeffrey Ford
Cast:
Dustin Hoffman as Bernie Madoff
Peter Sarsgaard as Mark Madoff
Famke Janssen as Shana Madoff
Jim Broadbent as Peter Madoff
Rebecca Hall as Erin Arvedlund
David Schwimmer as Harry Markopolos
With
Ned Beatty as Charles J. Shapiro
And
Kim Novak as Ruth Madoff
Tagline: “He went for broke in the most dangerous arena…”
Synopsis:
It was only the first day of December and Mark Madoff was already shopping for Christmas presents. New York City was always this beautiful and he always could count on Christmas to bring his family together. But as he was buying a gift with his mother Ruth, Mark got a call from his father. He needed him right away and it could not possibly wait.
Mark went into the living room where his father, Bernie, and his uncle Peter were glued to the television screen. The stock market had just plummeted and investors were running out of money the same as the banks were. Bernie was subtly fuming and ordered his daughter, Shana, to seize all the family’s assets before anyone else could touch him. Mark was confused over what was going on and asked Shana if he could help, but Shana only told him to keep an eye on Bernie, this week was going to be a tough one.
Bernie brings Mark along on a special mission to all their primary investors, but still won’t tell him anything about what’s going on. Mark is stopped by former employee Harry Markopolos as they enter NYSE and tells him that everything his father has worked for is all over and that he will finally be listened to. Bernie keeps his eyes level and informs him that no one listened to him before and no one will now. Harry tries to say something else but Bernie moves closer shutting him up in the process. Mark is confused but follows his father anyway.
Bernie meets up with Shana and Peter to see what exactly is going on and Shana says she can’t explain why their investors can’t withdraw the $7 billion they needed and starts to demand answers. Peter tells her to mind her own business and go back to her SEC husband, but Bernie stops the commotion. He says simply that the less who know about this the better, but does not tell Shana what it is all about. Bernie leaves with Peter, but Shana calls Mark to tell him something is wrong.
Bernie and Mark then go to Carl J. Shapiro, Bernie’s old friend and tells him they are in desperate need. Shapiro, in his 90’s is not quite sure what’s going on and Mark whispers to his father how uncomfortable he feels about all this. Bernie glares at him to shut up and then launches in the story about how they met, with Bernie founding Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1960 and how Shapiro was always there for him. Shapiro remembers the good times and Bernie even has a tear in his eye as well. Shapiro then gives him a total of $250 million. Mark expresses his disdain for his father’s actions, but Bernie explains to him this is what real finance is.
Bernie is in his office and reporter Erin Avredlund comes in, He tells Mark to step outside and he does so with some suspicion. Bernie asks her how many times she has accused him of fraud and she says that she finally has him now, after ten years on his trail. Bernie listens to her berate his company calmly, but then tells her that they are not even close to finished and have more money than she could count, Avredlund smiles and walks out saying that he is finished. Bernie smiles, but it soon fades into a nervous frown. He takes off his glasses and looks out the window, the Manhattan skyline covered with clouds. He looks at his watch and puts his arm on the window, nods slightly and then walks out of his building.
Back at home, Mark sees Harry on the TV talking to all the pundits about how he had warned the SEC and that Madoff is one of the primary reasons why this crash is happening. Bernie turns it off and brings the whole family in the living room with him. He tells them that the wealth management arm of their company is finished and that all of their money is gone. Ruth is incredulous and throws her wine glass at Bernie, Peter the forcibly removes her from the living room as she cries inconsolably and tells them all to shut up about the whole thing. Mark looks at Shana, shocked to see her all too resigned, she looks at him and grimaces, but leaves soon after.
Mark stands up to look Bernie in the eye and forces him to tell him the truth that seemingly everyone else knows. Bernie says simply that the money’s all gone and they can’t get it back. Mark is beside himself and yells at his father. All the people who are going to be broke, all the families that are not going to have money, all the friends he betrayed. Bernie nods and can’t even look at him, but Mark continues, telling him how he implicated his family in all of this and Bernie is finally fed up. He screams about how this has all been for his family, how he has no idea what he has done for them and that he clearly does not know what it takes to be in his position. Mark can’t believe it and attempts to leave, but Bernie gives him a big hug and tells him that he loves him and always will. Mark hugs him back and wants to say something, but Bernie stops him and says just one thing: “Don’t tell anyone, we can get through this.” Mark’s face hardens and he leaves.
The next morning Mark meets with Harry at a café and says he has something to tell him, something big. Harry orders a drink and asks Mark if he wants one. Mark is haggard, tears in his eyes. He hesitates and then agrees.
(Bernard L. Madoff was arrested on December 11th 2008 and sentenced to 150 years in prison. He is still married to Ruth. On December 11th 2010, exactly two years after his father’s arrest, Mark Madoff committed suicide in his New York apartment. He was 46 years old.)
Awards Campaign:
The Crash of 2008 has been great fodder for indie films like “Margin Call” and “Arbitrage”, but it has never been in the hands of such a confident filmmaker like Billy Ray. His previous films “Shattered Glass” and “Breach” have presented highly conflicted and even amoral modern conmen and “Off the Books” is a brilliant third installment in his “disturbed powerful modern men” trilogy with the biggest of them all – Bernie Madoff.
After being responsible for the screenplays of monster hits like “The Hunger Games” and “Captain Phillips”, Ray was finally given a chance to direct again six years after his well-reviewed but under seen “Breach”. Now Ray has a subject all too fitting for him, but does so in a simultaneously close and detached manner – through his son Mark Madoff’s eyes, played brilliantly by Peter Sarsgaard. His disillusionment with his father and then becoming his ultimate undoing plays similarly with his character in “Shattered Glass” and Ryan Phillipe’s in “Breach”. He walks the line between devoted son and informant quite well and is a great introduction into this cutthroat world of finance.
But the film absolutely belongs to Hoffman, whose Madoff is an enigma all the way into the end, but we can grasp how he is truly staring into the heart of darkness. Hoffman is mostly perfectly subtle, his anger bubbling and desperation hidden under a slim veil, but when he finally explodes at the end to his son, we see just how much he has to lose and how selfish he had been in the process. It’s a career-capping performance, one of veteran mastery and one for the ages.
Ray’s screenplay is one meticulously researched and contains enough finance lingo and head-swimming backroom politics to confuse the viewer, but it has a rhythm that implicates the viewer in Madoff’s actions rather than alienates them. We may not know exactly why Madoff did what he did but we can certainly see how and just how much he had to lose.
Technically, the movie is a marvel with Mychael Danna leading the way with a terrific, subtle score quite like his score for “Breach.” Tak Fujimoto is also back for Ray, with terrific cinematography showing the gray Christmas that always surrounds New York as well as Beth Mickle’s cold interiors surrounding Bernie and Mark Madoff. It’s crisply edited by Jeffrey Ford and is expertly crafted around only one day, the first day the market crash was made totally public.
The supporting cast of the film is also astounding, including a surprisingly good David Schwimmer, a particularly villainous performance by Jim Broadbent, but most surprisingly a highly flashy comeback performance by none other than Kim Novak as Bernie’s difficult, quick, and volatile wife Ruth. It’s difficult to say how much is truly Ruth and how much is Novak, but she is supremely effective in the few scenes he is in.
Billy Ray has crafted a film that is not too late or even too incisive, but is rather a harrowing character study seen through the eyes of the son who loved him most. Hoffman makes Madoff maddeningly multifaceted and Sarsgaard makes Mark the prodigal son turned whistleblower. The final text at the end of the film is the most heartbreaking part of the film. Bernard Madoff’s arrest and incarceration are linked exclusively to the suicide of Mark Madoff causing the audience to pause before leaving their seats. “Off the Books” is a riveting portrayal of the wealthiest gone wrong and the perversion of the American Dream by the man who not only won the game, but also wrote the rulebook. One of the best films of the year.
Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Actor – Dustin Hoffman
Best Supporting Actor – Peter Sarsgaard
Best Supporting Actress – Kim Novak
Best Director – Billy Ray
Best Adapted Screenplay – Billy Ray
Best Score
Best Cinematography
Best Editing