The emotional trauma experienced by Gordon Bennett and other victims of Bernie Madoff’s biggest Ponzi scheme deserved a more consistently engaging docuseries than Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street. Hailing from Netflix true crime veteran Joe Berlinger, this four-episode-long production takes a largely chronological look at who Madoff was and how he became such a powerful and corrupt figure. But, while often competent, the proceedings are never exceptional or memorable. It offers little unique insight into Madoff’s choices or the consequences they sparked. Instead, the doc primarily functions as a historical retelling via talking head interviews. The time, date, and place for many occurrences is noted, but Berlinger only makes passing reference to larger connected themes. The fact that Berlinger is capable of framing the story more creatively only makes his failure to do so more frustrating. Overall, there’s too little of what the series does best. Whenever the camera cut back to interviews with victims like Bennett and his wife, I wished it would stay there. Their experiences are so captivating. If only Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street had realized these testimonies, not limp recreations of the past, were its best asset.