“The Wizard of Lies,” December 17, 2017 (2017), HBO release, DVD (on the road). Robert De Niro stars in this Barry Levnison study of Bernie Madoff, whose 50 billion dollar Ponzi scheme rocked investors during the collapse of the housing/stock/derivatives markets in 2007/8. Michelle Pfeiffer’s wife Ruth brings appropriate selfishness, narcissism, and fragility into focus; while his sons Mark (Alessandro Nivola) and Andrew (Nathan Darrow) drown in the wake of this giant con. But the movie is really De Niro’s as he inhabits the narcissist architect of a horrific fraud that preyed on rich investors who asked no questions and charities with a special focus on those of the Jewish community who thought he was caring for them in a special way. They came to him and were thrilled to be suckered while they thought they were being succored. Many were bankrupted and as these funded medical research, hospitals, and social welfare work throughout the nation, it’s no stretch of the imagination to see Madoff as a murderer and not simply a con man or a good man caught up in his own mess. The film makes its position clear: the family did not know but should have in a better world where all were not cowed by this benevolent and ruthless, demeaning tyrant. And De Niro pulls it off wonderfully. Diana Henriques, the NYT reporter who interviewed Madoff in prison, plays herself. If the returns are too good to be true, it’s because they aren’t real. If you don’t think something’s kosher, then get out and spread the word. Yet even this was not enough to bring Madoff down: folks went to the groveling SEC, and they did nothing. At times the film speaks to the overall corruption of the stock market and finance capitalism, but it keeps its focus on Bernie, and that’s a pity as we deregulate the banks again (why not point this out?) and are heading for yet another abyss. But then Madoff and Trump share many characteristics as purveyors of lies. Both have perpetrated massive financial frauds, but somehow Trump remains unscathed. So far.