Worth Movie Review

Worth [What is Life Worth] (2020)

Watch Worth on Netflix // Read the book (paid link)
Written by: Max Borenstein
Directed by: Sara Colangelo
Starring: Michael Keaton, Amy Ryan, Stanley Tucci
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
An attorney in Washington D.C. battles against cynicism, bureaucracy and politics to help the victims of 9/11.

Verdict
It probes the difficult question of what a life is worth. It's incalculable. While this movie is a lot of talk, and that makes it slow in the beginning, as the plot develops it provides insight into a couple families and the complications that arise from a simple formula to calculate compensation, though the conclusion is expected and uninspiring.
It depends.

Review
It's very easy to ascertain the premise of the movie with just the first scene. Ken Feinberg (Michael Keaton) leads college students in a discussion of the worth of a life. This gets into the issues you would expect. How do you factor in potential earnings, dependents, and what feels fair?

Michael Keaton plays Ken Feinberg.

Feinberg has government support to pick a number, his job is to determine the 'right' number. Determining a payout for family will prevent a protracted lawsuit, and he sees this opportunity as a way to serve. Of course when Feinberg presents his conclusions to victims' families they're outraged at the disparity. Why does the CEO get so much more money than the janitor? It's difficult for families to see the numbers impartially when they are mourning. They see it as rich peoples' lives are more valuable when a number is attached.

Entanglements develop with family drama, and this does a good job of focusing on just a few families to develop the issues. The lawyers failed to account for some factors like a mistress.

One scene juxtaposes immigrant families who can't believe size of the payout with wall street executives demanding more. Despite the gulf of difference between the numbers, the poorer are grateful and the richer spiteful.

The problem with fair is that it's subjective. The lawyers approach it pragmatically while family members see it as a calculation of importance. Feinberg remains impartial because he tasks his staff with listening to the families. When they hear first hand accounts, it's difficult to remain impartial. This sets up Feinberg's big turn where he has to hear the story and see the tears. After that he sees the task much differently.

His desire for something equitable and his turn to realizing how personal people see this is predictable. There are a lot of movies with a similar plot, though I appreciate a movie about September 11 from a different angle.