Worth (2020) User Reviews

A good reminder of the chaos and myriad stories that emerged from 9/11

[steiner-sam · 6/10 · 27 September 2021]

It's set from 2001 to 2003 in Washington, D. C. and New York City and tells the story of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund through the eyes of its Special Master, Kenneth Feinberg. The movie is "based on" Feinberg's book, "What is Life worth"?

The movie opens by setting up Kenneth Feinberg's (Michael Keaton) bona fides as an expert on compensation for loss of life from a sudden loss of life by accident or violence. After 9/11, Feinberg, a longtime Democrat who had worked for Ted Kennedy, is asked by Attorney General John Ashcroft (Victor Slezak) to be the Special Master for the compensation fund. Feinberg welcomes the invitation, and with the help of his assistant, Camille Biros (Amy Ryan), and staffers Priya Khundi (Shunori Ramanathan) and Darryl Barnes (Ato Blankson-Wood), begins the process of meeting the claimants.

Initially, Feinberg is an insensitive number-cruncher who alienates the relatives of those who lost family members. We hear snippets of many stories of victims and follow a few more extended stories. These include the gay partner of a victim who does not fit the "formula" because Virginia, where they lived, did not recognize civil unions. Another involved the widow and children of a firefighter who had other children the widow presumably did not know about. Other characters are critics of the Fund's rules, Charles Wolf (Stanley Tucci), and a lawyer representing only the highest-income families, Lee Quinn (Tate Donovan).

The storyline follows Feinberg's transition to greater empathy and the challenge to get at least 80% of the claimants to sign on to the Fund by the deadline.

At some levels, this is a heartwarming story of growing empathy. However, I wondered what the real Kenneth Feinberg thought of his depiction. In the beginning, he's a tone-deaf bureaucrat, which seems odd for someone reputed to be an expert in compensation cases that requires meetings with survivors. This rattled my believability gauge, which is always crucial for me in biopics. In addition, I found Keaton's "Boston" accent more distracting than reinforcing. And the ending surge to the finish line seemed a bit pat.

But I found the story engaging and a good reminder of the chaos and myriad stories that emerged from 9/11.

Humanity vs Economics

[foy-rizla · 8/10 · 31 August 2021]

Worth is an incredibly human story that shows just how complicated the world can get when you ask one simple question; what is the value of a life?

I'm sure that everyone associated with this project felt a great pressure to do the subject matter justice and I genuinely feel they did that. Worth is a superbly constructed movie with excellent pacing which allows you the time to experience the weight of the situation and the emotions of the people involved without ever feeling too slow or getting bogged down. This is a genuine achievement, as it's essentially a film about people talking in rooms and those are notoriously difficult films to make. The editor and all those involved in the final cut certainly deserve a lot of credit for that.

The acting is as good as you would expect it to be. This is certainly Keaton's movie, as his character is the focal point that the story returns to on a regular basis, and he carries that with his usual brilliance, but it must be said that there isn't a single bad performance in this movie. Everyone is fantastic and I feel this is the kind of film where if one person had been bad, it would have taken you out of the whole thing ... I was in it from start to finish.

Whatever your political views, I think this is an interesting look into a world that will be foreign to most of us, but we all need to understand.

8/10.

Hidden Gem of a Movie

[evanston_dad · 8/10 · 9 February 2022]

Buried in the Netflix movie graveyard is this little unseen gem about a lawyer (Michael Keaton) who's given the job of figuring out how much compensation to give each family of people who died in the 9/11 attacks.

This is one of those scrappy do-gooder movies like "Erin Brockovich" or "Dark Waters" that pit earnest, well meaning folk against corporate greed, and I'm a total sucker for those kinds of movies. Michael Keaton is perfect to play a role like this, because he's so darn charismatic and likable and easy to root for. Add in Stanley Tucci, who makes everything he's in worth watching, and that's all you really need. But as a bonus, there's excellent work from Amy Ryan and stage actress Laura Benanti. The only acting misstep comes from Tate Donovan, who gets the unenviable task of representing Rich People and who is only lacking a silent villain mustache to turn his character into a total cartoon.

"Worth" goes into the things you'd think a movie like this would: economic and class disparity, the moral ramifications of putting the worth of a human life to a dollar figure, an American system that piles advantages on top of people who already have all the advantages. But it stays smart and understated and never overplays its hand.

Every year I try to see as many movies as I can regardless of how well they're reviewed or whether or not they get any awards attention, and movies like this are why. For every four you see that are forgettable or worse, there's a fifth that makes you glad you found it.

Grade: A.

Great start, with good acting by Michael Keaton, but I felt this story became a feel good movie, while there is nothing to feel good about...

[imseeg · 6/10 · 1 October 2021]

The good: excellent acting performance by Michael Keaton. Photography and direction are great as well.

What's missing? Anything bad? Well, this movie turns into a feel good movie, wherein all the 9/11 vicitm's families suddenly start treating the government as a friend, while in real life there was no such thing. In fact there is still a lot of resentment towards the government because of the fact that a lot of volunteer aid workers did not get a penny. Not even for their severe disabilities.

Still not a bad movie, but a movie which feels like someone is whitewashing the mistreatment of many aid workers by painting a rosy picture of a terrible mistreatment of volunteer aid workers.

Emotion v Maths

[am-by · 6/10 · 3 September 2021]

This movie is frustrating because its has so many of the ingredients needed for a great movie but it's not a great movie and I don't know what the missing ingredient is. But it plods along without impetus. It needs a jolt from a director who would see a great story thats told in a boring way is not story to be retold.

Battle against the bureaucracy

[sandino_owen · 7/10 · 19 September 2021]

It is a film that shows American culture in all its expression, Values vs Economy, Reason vs Economy, Humanitarian Act vs Economy.

A film by a director who was unknown to me, Sara Colangelo, for me it is a pleasant surprise to discover this young director. I also loved the performance of Amy Ryan as Camille Biros, she managed to play a mature woman, very professional of these times.

A Bit Unremarkable

[sweidman-28016 · 6/10 · 17 September 2021]

"My daughter's worth just as much as anybody in a corner office."

Worth is about an attorney in Washington D. C. who battles against cynicism, bureaucracy, and politics to help the victims of 9/11. An important subject, it focuses both on the victims and families lost in the attack, and how it affected those who didn't experience those great losses that day. It's taken a long while for this to come out. With its premier at the Sundance Film Festival back in 2020, I would've expected it to drop sometime last year, but they waited almost two full years to release it on Netflix. It makes sense to drop it close to the tenth anniversary of the tragedy. I would've expected something more like Spotlight given the subject and the same producers along with Michael Keaton on board. Unfortunately, the movie comes off unremarkable. It explores all that it wants, but nothing more. I'm sorted of reminded of a movie like White Boy Rick or The Mule or some other recent Clint Eastwood movie. The movie does the job but never goes as deep as it should. There are a few emotional scenes that I liked and hoped would stay in that direction. But shortly after we get that bland biopic formula.

The two main performances from Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci are good. I preferred Tucci's character more than Keaton's, but still good. Who stole the show for me was Laura Benanti. She has a few scenes and she crushes them. Those were the scenes I wish the movie could've been. I also did like these interview scenes throw in throughout. We then get more stories besides the struggle to understand how to compensate the families. The script had its moments. I would say the dialogue was mostly good, but could come off as uninteresting with scenes dragging on. Sara Colangelo had good ideas when it came to direction. The scene on the train when the attacks take place has a good use of music and a good one take. That's the most I can say. The movie has its moments. But it comes off forgettable in the end. I didn't feel like I retained as much as I could. The subject is interesting, but I lost internet watching. This could be something people are really into, especially those who experienced it. I just think more could've been done.

Worth the watch

[jldivelbiss · 7/10 · 6 September 2021]

I would say three of the hardest jobs in America during and after 9/11 was being an air traffic controller and a first responder during 9/11, and then being Mr. Feinberg and his firm after. Seriously, I have so much respect for people who are willing to do the work nobody else wants to do. God bless them!

I only rated this because...

[nategerard77 · 9/10 · 4 September 2021]

I want to be sure you watch it. Films like this are less here for ratings than they are to tell us something we need to be reminded of.

With the 20th September 11th about to arrive it's important we remember as much as we can about the people who were lost and their families who are devastated as a result.

This film tells their stories through the eyes of one man who had to be convinced that the 9/11 victims fund was more about the victims than it was about the fund.

His realization and resulting humanity is an account of decency that will help us remember that we can still be kind and decent to each other and when times are tough maybe that's the most important thing we can be to each other.

plodding formulaic handling of post 9/11 event

[whytekt · 6/10 · 9 September 2021]

John Grisham might have penned a more coherent legal structuring of the core narrative thus conveying a more convincing rationale for the last minute changes of heart....both from the victim's perspective and from Kenny's. A fascinating start where the implications of 9/11 are presented, explained and the initial strategy conceived. But then not used sufficiently to maintain full engagement with Kenny's commitment to the formula. There are some vivid depictions of the real impact of the event on innocent players but handled through case studies without real develoment...except the Donato family story which became incongrous with the tone elsewhere. Still a worthy account of the political and economic implications resulting from such a tragic event. But are politicians really so cynical and readily influenced by big business???

The 9-11 Victims Compensation Fund

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 7 September 2021]

Michael Keaton stars with Stanley Tucci, Amy Ryan, Tate Donovan, Shunori Ramanathan, Laura Benanti, Talia Balsam, and Chris Tardio in "Worth" from 2020.

Worth is the story of the attempt by the government to manage the inevitable lawsuits that will come after the 9/11 tragedy. An attorney, Kenneth Feinberg, who wants to help, signs on pro bono to bring in 80% of the survivor families and decide on an equitable payment for each person.

Feinberg and his assistant, Camille (Ryan) soon learn that it's an impossible task. They are dealing with diverse situations in each case, not to mention angry and grieving people who are convinced the government is out to cheat them.

Feinberg sets up parameters, but they're a disaster. Those who discover later that they are ill from being on the scene are not eligible, gay partners are not eligible, and on and on. The big earners, represented by Tate Donovan, want their award increased.

Charles Wolf, a man who lost his wife on 9/11, sets up a Fix the Fund organization, which has many members, while Feinberg can't get sign-up from 15% of the people. Eventually Feinberg begins to understand where Wolf is coming from, the need for justice, and for the worth of life being predicated on individual factors.

Several New York actors here, including the talented Laura Benanti as a widow who learns about her husband's secret; Carolyn Mignini, another Broadway presence, Victor Slezak, and a few others.

The acting is wonderful. Keaton plays a man struggling to understand what he's gotten himself into, and Tucci is an intense and passionate person struggling to convince Feinberg that he's going about his job backwards. Both of them are opera fans, and both men care about the survivors. All of the actors are very natural and realistic.

Having lived two neighborhoods away from the Twin Towers when 9/11 happened, reliving it was no picnic, especially for some reason seeing all the flyers pasted on storefronts with photos of lost people. The fire department a block away from me lost everyone. Such incredible loss of good people with families left rudderless. It was a traumatic and horrible time for them. And it's still going on, as people are developing illnesses even now from their presence on the site.

One thing we know, there isn't enough money in the world that will bring their loved ones back. What they wanted was someone to listen, to acknowledge their grief, to help, and to look at them as individuals. It took awhile, but Ken Feinberg and his staff finally caught on.

As an aside, I am a former opera singer. Everybody and their uncle was asking me about the song with the words lost my father, lost my ticket etc. The song is I Lost a Sock from something called Lost Objects performed by Bang on a Can.

When the movie begins, there is a number from Die Fledermaus. On the train, Feinberg listens to the Lakme duet. When he and Tucci discuss Cecilia Bartoli in the office, they are discussing the aria Parto from La Clemenza di Tito that is playing. Hope this helps. So many questions, so little time.

Just fell a little short

[davesandri · 6/10 · 12 September 2021]

Well written, edited, and so forth. Keaton and Tucci are masterful in their portrayals. The movie has very touching moments that portrays the situation in the film as well as those of the stories of the people this is based on in a very sympathetic and emotional manner. I would recommend to almost anyone who asks me to give it a shot. My only real criticism is that it can be slow at times, and at the core concept the movies plot self describes to be about justice. How suing the airlines over the events of 9/11 is about justice or the motivation in doing so however is never explained.

It comes down to characters always saying the whole movie is about being just but never once explains why it's the airlines fault.

A Christmas Carol meets tragedy

[ThatPavaldo · 4/10 · 8 September 2021]

This film can be summed up by thinking of Ebenezer Scrooge. The main character is a stuffy, bureaucratic style of guy and only focusses on facts and statistics.

SUDDENLY...

After as series of encounters with families of the victims of the 9-11 attacks, he mellows and suddenly starts treating all families with the milk of human kindness.

This film actually begs the question of whether or not this truly happened! If it did then it is baffling that one man could have had such power to compensate (or not) all of the families. If this is embellished then it is just completely weird to take a subject such as this and weave in a Christmas Carol style of humanity awakening!

Subjectively speaking though, as a film, it was OK and highlighted the polarisation of wealth in the USA.

A different look at 9/11

[valleyjohn · 7/10 · 9 September 2021]

There have been hundreds of films and TV shows documenting what happened on 9/11 and to be brutally honest , I stopped watching them years ago because it seems like it has become a bit of an obsession. I only decided to watch Worth because of its cast and it coming from a different angle and I'm quite glad I did .

Michael Keaton plays an attorney in Washington D. C who battles against cynicism, bureaucracy and politics to help the victims of 9/11 and although that sounds it a little dull , it really isn't.

There is no doubt that the best thing about this film is the performances from Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci. Tucci probably being the better of the two .

There are no shock tactics used in this film which is good because we've seen it all before.

Instead we get a view of how it was almost impossible to put a price on the lives of the people who died or were injured in the terrorist attack.

One scene stuck with me . They we discussing compensation with the representatives of highly paid workers and low paid workers and true to type the latter just wanted as much money as the could possible squeeze out of the government and the lower paid were totally grateful at their offers .

This won't be everyone's cup of tea because it's very dialogue heavy but I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting.

The other side

[Calicodreamin · 7/10 · 7 September 2021]

I enjoyed this film particularly for its portrayal of the other side of loss. Something I would have never thought of as a fallout of 9/11 would be compensating the victims family's. The characters were well cast and well acted. The storyline was unique and captivating. Overall a good film, though maybe too Hollywood of an ending.

"What is life worth"

[BrunoRatesTheMovies · 7/10 · 25 March 2022]

We live in such a complex world and when life is involved, we cannot be averaged out by an algorithm. Humanity is the outlier not always guided by rational thoughts, especially when money and emotions play a factor. The wealth disparities are laid bare when trying to cost out a janitor and a CEO in the same formula. Stanley Tucci yet again steals the show, sorry Batman.

Worth

[RobTheWatcher · 6/10 · 18 March 2023]

Worth was a dramatic and sad movie about the falling out effects of 9/11 and the "worth" behind the fallen to their loved ones. It raised the moral question of what makes the most sense between what's "right" and what's "logical". It's honestly such a difficult theme to wrap your mind around let alone the fact that this actually happened in real life. It was a really compelling story and interesting to see. The movie itself was reasonably slow at times and lacked some things to fully keep you engaged. But based on the story and history behind it, it's a good movie to watch and I would recommend it.

How Much is a Person's Value?

[jeroduptown · 6/10 · 10 February 2022]

Keaton is tasked with the Victim Compensation Fund, which paid families of victims of the 9/11 attacks. Interesting story that proves Keaton still has some chops.

An engrossing film on what a person is worth

[thedesq · 8/10 · 20 March 2020]

What is a person's life worth? That is the opening question of the movie as a law professor Kenneth Feinberg poses the question to his law students. After the 9/11 attacks, Michael Keaton (as Feinberg) is a lawyer tasked as a Special Master by the President to decide what each one of the 9/11 victims or their next of kin should receive in terms of monetary compensation. The government has stepped in to help with the compensation because to allow individual lawsuits against the major airlines and the businesses within the twin towers would alter the entire domestic economy. The movie is a very well-acted drama of the business aspects of the aftermath of 9/11 put into human terms.

The movie focuses on several groups of characters: the very wealthy who think they are worth more than others, first responders represented by two firemen, and a gay couple whose relationship was not recognized by law at the time. Finally, a civil activist (Stanley Tucci) who lost his wife in the towers, and is fighting to make the compensation from the government "fair" and more personal than the callous, "formula" that Keaton has come up with.

As the movie progresses, we see that Keaton, through Tucci, discovers that every person has an individual story and circumstances that determine their worth. Questions arise during the movie such as, are all people worth the same as human beings or do we determine the worth of an individual by their place in society or the dependents they left behind? As we see in the opening scenes in the law classroom, generally a person is worth what they think they are worth. Yet even then, is our sense of worth overinflated or underinflated? The bottom line is we all have worth and we need to realistically discover what that worth is. What are you as an individual adding to society?

Compelling aspects of the film were the use of actual footage of the attacks on 9/11 and the aftermath, including pictures of those trying to locate their loved ones who were missing or more likely incinerated during the attacks on the towers. It made for a more realistic look and remembrance of just how horrific that day was in American history. Music, especially opera music, was prevalent in Keaton's character's life. As the chaos and turmoil are going on around him, he often has his earphones on and is listening to opera music, which seems to isolate him as to what is going on around him. However, as the stress mounts, he is not even able to enjoy the music, because he cannot get the victims out of his mind. It isn't until this point that he changes his attitude and decides to truly help the victims find their worth.

Informative

[zorroaca · 6/10 · 4 September 2021]

After the Trump presidency, it's hard to watch anything that has to do with the government without becoming sick. Keaton was good as usual and the production was first class... but after all the lies we experienced... a movie like this falls flat.

Engrossing

[srooks1 · 8/10 · 4 September 2021]

Worth is not an adventure movie; it is a process movie. The changes are very small; it affects the attorneys, victims, and other advocates.

The individual performancesb Michael Keaton and Stanley Gucci provide gravitas for the entire movie.

Quite Interesting

[wldw-15877 · 6/10 · 5 September 2021]

It's worth your time for sure. Tucci and Keaton are great, so is Amy Ryan from The Office. I was 33 when this happened and remember it like yesterday.

A controversial subject, all questions and no answers.

[Xavier_Stone · 3/10 · 8 August 2021]

This is a difficult job to negotiate a fair settlement for the victims of any tragedy, and most insurance and large corporations have formulas for paying out in the case of injuries and death. Everyone knows this from old motor vehicle recalls and class action lawsuits.

So when people start saying it's not about the money, well, it's about the money and they want more is all.

Maybe the adjuster listened to more people and tinkered with his formula in order to get more claimants to sign on, but the bottom line is that he just paid them more is all. This obvious oversight is completely missed in the film and we are all supposed to believe that everyone agreed on their settlements 'cause it was good for the economy to recover and move on. Sure. Believe that with a truckload of salt.

Everyone just wants a chance to spill their story and help persuade other into thinking that their loved one was someone special and deserved more than average. This film does nothing to convince me that thousands of people agreed to settle last minute out of the goodness of their hearts.

Why make a film if you are going to gloss over the catalyst of the entire negotiation ?????? 3 stars for drama, but nothing really compelling to recommend this.

Very informative and emotional.

[IndridC0ld · 7/10 · 5 September 2021]

I was in my early forties when 9/11 happened. I remember Dan Rather at the six o'clock news saying "good evening, you'll remember this day, for as long as you live." While that was true of course, I never really followed the 9/11 fund drama. I suppose I just didn't think about things like compensation for those injured. However this film brings this fascinating story to light in a way that turned all of those victims into real people. ALL of the performers are first rate!

I must say my opinion of the legal profession as a dirt-ridden tool of the wealthy was also well supported. The idea that CEO families should be made not just solvent, but super-wealthy again infuriated me. It's as if every contingency of life must be made soft and luxurious for the wealthy. Patoohy to that!

The stories of the real people were heartbreaking. The gay partner who was left with nothing had me in tears. It's hard to believe the hard-won progress that has been made in this area since the early years of the twenty first century.

In any case, this is a fascinating look into the whole idea of legal compensation. Well worth a watch!

Take Notes

[tdwillis-26273 · 7/10 · 7 September 2021]

A good balance of showing how generally impartial people and processes can BECOME considerate,sympathetic,individualistic and as fair as possible.

Wish the rest of other "impartial" parts of society could take notes. It would be a better world.