“Unraveled” is a riveting Showtime documentary, directed by
Marc H. Simon, of the last 60 days or the “purgatory” house arrest of Wall
Street lawyer Marc Dreier, before his sentencing for securities fraud in
2009. His case would have been one of
the largest ever were it not for Bernie Madoff.
Dreier lives in an Upper East Side penthouse, without cell
phone and Internet, with visits from his attorneys, and the company of his
loving dog and of his grown, college-age son, who often visits. Dreier’s son
and mother would have been held responsible had Dreier somehow jumped bail. Imagine living the last days of your freedom with the clock ticking and the calendar advancing.
Through flashbacks (with some storyboard drawings) he
recreates the history of his Ponzi scheme involving forged promissory notes. He even "promoted himself" by opening his own law firm, with an unusual "autocratic" structure, at 499 Park Avenue, an address that will earn the notoriety following the Lipstick Building. After the financial crisis of 2008, the scheme started to unravel and hedge
funds started demanding payment rather than rolling loans. Dreier went to Dubai in late 2008 on a strip
and even considered staying there because Dubai has no extradition treaties with
the US. But he came back, hoping to see
his family and scheme a way out. He went
to Toronto and tried to forge a signature on a loan in person, and was caught
and arrested. The legal and dominoes in the US
quickly fell.
Dreier often comments on his flaws, why ambition led him to
believe he could get away with this, and gave a nod to people whose character
would keep them honest even when nobody is looking. He admitted that honesty is the core of all
virtue.
The official site on Tumblr is here.
The film can be watched on Instant play on Netflix.
I rather like to watch “financial thrillers” and
documentaries. I think that it’s time to
make a documentary about the national debt, entitlement reform, and the debt
ceiling issue.
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