Film Review: Worth
Stanley Tucci as Charles Wolf © Netflix.
WORTH (2020) DIR. SARA COLANGELO
Written by Belle McIntyre
The much delayed, but still appropriate timing of this film version of Kenneth Feinberg’s memoir “What is Life Worth” about his role as Special Master of the September 11 Victim’s Compensation Fund is a fascinating look into one of the more controversial and difficult post-9/11 government programs. In the immediate aftermath of the event, Congress in a pragmatic, yet somewhat cynical attempt to mitigate possible lawsuits against the government or the airlines, which could cause unfathomable financial problems, set up the fund which encouraged all of the families of the victims to sign up for a single payment of a set amount of money which would guarantee that there would be no lawsuits for damages after the fact.
Feinberg (Michael Keaton), one of the top attorneys specializing in mediating very large damage cases involving huge numbers of victims, like Agent Orange, volunteers for the position and offers his services and those of his firm pro bono. He believes in the validity of what he is signing on to, feeling confident that he will be able to craft a formula for dealing with the victims equitably. There is only one unexpected factor which challenges their professional and personal objectivity. It is the impact of the stories. Whose life is worth more and whose pain less?
Amy Ryan as Camielle Biros and Michael Keaton as Ken Feinberg © Netflix.
What could have been a fairly dry procedural drama becomes engrossing when the sheer range of victims becomes overwhelming to the lawyers on the project. The idea of reducing the degree of pain and suffering of an undocumented janitor, the widowed wife of a fire fighter and mother of small children, the family of a CEO. As their stories are told in interviews with the legal team, the scope only widens. Their stories are given a sensitive and nuanced treatment, never veering into sentimentality, while still retaining their emotional power. Feinberg’s attitude evolves from a jaundiced view that justice does not include fairness, but just enough that both sides can sign off and walk away from the table. Keaton, is wonderful as a man rediscovering his humanity as uncomfortable as it makes his task. He is challenged by Charles Wolf (a superb Stanley Tucci), an activist whose wife is a victim, who has started FixtheFund.org as a corrective to the process. He manages to get under Feinberg’s veneer.
The big moral dilemma at the center is an unsolvable conundrum and there are no possible happy endings and probably no one should be asked to have such god-like power. The film makes no judgement. No solutions are presented and the film does not shy away from an open-ended conclusion. It feels and looks extremely natural and authentic and appropriate to the delicacy of the subject. Eschewing dramatic excesses, I found it moving, compelling and engrossing. Could not recommend it more.
