Michael Keaton
stars as Ken
Feinberg, the
man charged
with establishing
the 9/11
Victim Compensation Fund in
this Netflix produced biopic from
Sara Colangelo (The Kindergarten
Teacher). Written by Max Borenstein
(Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island),
Worth also stars Stanley Tucci, Laura
Benanti and Tate Donovan.
In 2001, following the horrific
attacks on the Twin Towers and
Pentagon, Congress appoints
attorney and renowned mediator
Kenneth Feinberg to lead the Victim
Compensation Fund. Assigned
with allocating financial resources
to the victims of the tragedy and
their loved ones, Feinberg and his
head of operations, Camille Biros
(Amy Ryan) face the painful task of
determining the worth of each life
lost to the terror attacks.
Feinberg soon finds himself at
loggerheads with Charles Wolf (Tucci),
a community organiser who lost
his wife in the attacks. Ken’s initial
cynicism turns to compassion as
he starts to learn the human cost of
the tragedy from the testaments of
those left behind.
What is a life worth? This is the
primary question asked by Colangelo
and Borenstein in their film.
They deliver a strong and unequivocal
reminder of the power of empathy
and the importance of human
connection. As observed in her critically
acclaimed second feature The
Kindergarten Teacher, Colangelo’s
directing style is both precise and
unostentatious. Here, she has given
us a film which is unabashedly full
of heart without ever veering on the
needlessly sentimental, and that’s
perhaps where her genius lies.
Keaton and Tucci both give stellar
performances, as does Ryan, but
for me it is Laura Benanti who steals
the show with one of her most moving
performances as the grieving
widow of a New York firefighter.
Elsewhere, Tate Donovan puts in a
commendable turn as Lee Quinn,
while Talia Balsam does a great job
as Diane Shaff, Feinberg’s wife.
This is a passionate and beautifully
acted biopic which acts as a
fitting tribute to the victims of 9/11
on the 20th anniversary of this
enduring tragedy. Colangelo and
Borenstein have achieved what was
expected from them and more by
allowing those who lost so much to
finally have their own stories told.
