Worth

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.