David Farnor | On 04, Sep 2021

Director: Sara Colangelo
Cast: Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, Amy Ryan, Shunori Ramanathan, Laura Benanti, Tate Donovan
Certificate: 12
Where to watch Worth online in the UK: Netflix UK

What is life worth? That’s the question at the centre of Sara Colangelo’s thoughtful drama, as a group of people have to somehow work out an answer. They are the team behind the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, set up in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks in 2011. The first initiative of its kind, it was established to provide government-backed compensation for the victims of that tragic day.

The idea is at once a noble proposition and a calculated move, offering financial support for the loved ones of those who lost their lives in the Twin Towers, an act of charity and mourning to help them move on, while also pre-empting a potential wave of lawsuits against the airline industry. In practice, though, that difficult balancing act translates into a near impossible task – and yet it’s one that Washington lawyer Ken Feinberg (Michael Keaton) agrees to take on pro bono. He’s got experience in that area, having worked to resolve the Agent Orange class-action suit, but also sees the opportunity as a way of serving the country at a time of national grief.

As he says early on, he doesn’t believe in fair – he believes in justice, and that requires a formula that can work impartially within the law and adjust accordingly to suit each person’s financial situation, from the size of their mortgage to their typical annual income. While his team are given two years to crunch those numbers, the real tension comes from the conflict between objective maths and personal loss.

Max Borenstein’s script is based on Feinberg’s 2005 memoir, What Is Life Worth?, and takes certain factual liberties to dramatise that philosophical and moral dilemma. Inevitably, the moment Feinberg’s formula is put to the test, it encounters all manner of variables in people’s lives, from gay couples whose relationships aren’t at the time legally recognised by their home states to families with unknown children from secret affairs.

While the names and specifics are different from real life, the principle is the same, as it the emotional impact. The cast, which includes the excellent Laura Benanti as a firefighter’s widow and superb support from Amy Ryan and Shunori Ramanathan as Camille and Priya, two members of Feinberg’s team, treat the material with the sensitivity and sincerity required – even Tate Donovan’s turn as Lee Quinn, a greedy lawyer hired to get more money for certain wealthy parties, avoids being cartoonishly villainous.

The film’s co-lead, Stanley Tucci, delivers a heartfelt turn as Charlie Wolf, a widower who leads a campaign to “fix the fund” and has a number of debates with Feinberg about it. Their moments together are the most powerful, not least because they’re so underplayed, with each party already aware that their conversations can’t be neatly concluded – it’s impossible for the equation at hand to ever be satisfactorily tallied.

Colangelo, who also helmed The Kindergarten Teacher, allows for that nuance and breathing space, capturing close-ups of their faces that bring heart to what might have been a string of cold office discussions. Throughout, Michael Keaton is marvellous as Feinberg, selling the familiar Hollywood arc of a corporate lawyer learning to value compassion with a stoic, sombre charisma. He listens as much as he talks, and just watching him react to each person he meets is hugely moving, as Keaton conveys Feinberg’s inner journey in the tiniest changes to his composure.

The result keeps the focus on the victims rather than government bureaucracy, turning would could have been a calculated, academic exercise into a poignant, profound meditation on the value of human life, and the toll of such terrible loss.

 

Worth is available on Netflix UK, as part of an £8.99 monthly subscription.

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