More often than not, movies that attempt to capitalize on the tragedy of real-life events have mountains to climb over that other movies don’t even have to navigate. The greater the tragedy (at least when it comes to the loss of human life), the closer the attempt to reap any profit from the tragedy through music, literature, art, film, or other types of storytelling expression to the actual event itself presents an even steeper cliff to escalate.
Two 2006 releases made their way to theaters that year, each reasonably successful at the box office and with the critics. The first was United 93 (90% critics score, 83% audience score, $32 million USA box office gross), a real-time, handheld camera type of film about the passengers on United Flight 93 who overpowered the terrorists and crashed a plane, likely headed for either the White House or U.S. Capitol, into a cornfield in Pennsylvania. The second was World Trade Center (67%, 60%, $70 million USA box office gross), a story about police officers who become trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center during their attempt to help people escape. Twenty years after the horrific events on that day, the pain still feels exceptionally intense for many. A movie such as Sara Colangelo’s (The Kindergarten Teacher, Little Accidents) Worth is sure to stir a range of emotions and feelings, which is the intent of this little film that tells a story worth telling.
Worth stars Michael Keaton (Spotlight, Birdman) as Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master of the U.S. government’s September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Hired by the United States government After the attacks on 9/11, Feinberg is tasked with helping settle with families of the victims by offering each family a tax-free compensation package in exchange for their pledge never to sue the airline companies whose planes were overtaken by the hostages. The approach seems cut and dry enough. The more families that sign on, the less significant the economic impact of potential lawsuits will be. However, the price tag associated with each victim’s life would undoubtedly strike a nerve with some and downright infuriate others. For example, should a high-powered executive at a Fortune 500 company who is married with five children receive the same compensation as a bus driver who has no children, or should each victim receive the same amount of money?
Feinberg and fellow attorney Camille Biros (Amy Ryan – Late Night, Beautiful Boy) have two years to get 80% of the victims’ families to agree to the terms offered. Anything less than that will be deemed a failure. The duo tackles the job in different ways. Feinberg looks at each individual objectively and is brilliant with United States law and cracking numbers. He examines all the factors to determine the exact number offered and doesn’t have the emotional investment the families require. Is that his persona, or does he shed what he feels to do his job effectively?
Meanwhile, Biros couldn’t help but be swept away by the stories she heard. Perhaps this was not the case earlier in her career, but the event’s magnitude has overwhelmed her like it had left many of us dazed and devastated. It has impacted her ability to maintain the objectivity that the job requires. Activist and 9/11 widower Charles Wolf (Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones, Margin Call) is the social conscience of the movie. Willing to give the government a chance at the start of the project, whereas many others wouldn’t even hear Feinberg out, Wolf blasts what he sees as a lackadaisical and unfair proposal, even setting up a website named FixTheFund. As professional in his protests as Feinberg was with his responsibilities, the two men find that they have much more in common than they could have anticipated. Yet they could still engage in public back and forth without making their attacks on one another feel personal.
I liked Worth. The topic was interesting. I probably should have known more about this topic over the last 20 years, but 20 years ago, I was 25 years old and in the first three years of my teaching career. I barely could function, let alone take in the daily news. That may sound sad to some, but it’s entirely true. I wish it hadn’t been that way. At times, it was slow and segmented. If this was your introduction to the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, as it was mine, I think you’ll be more willing to give the movie some slack for going at a much slower and purposeful pace than movies like Vice or The Big Short. I was okay with just about everything in this movie. Unfortunately, it didn’t stick with me as I thought and wished it would after my viewing. I hardly thought about it between my watch and my review. That’s usually not the sign of a compelling movie. Nevertheless, this was an important movie to be made and worth the watch, despite the lower score I gave the film compared to what I just wrote.
Plot 8/10
Character Development 7/10
Character Chemistry 7.5/10
Acting 8.5/10
Screenplay 8/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 7/10
Sound 7/10
Hook and Reel 8/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
79%
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Vice
- United 93
- W.
- The Big Short
- Charlie Wilson’s War