Worth (12A)
Directed by Sara Colangelo
⭑⭑⭑
 

WHAT is life worth? That is the fundamental question at the heart of this powerful and heartbreaking drama about an aspect of the September 11 terror attacks that is rarely highlighted — the fight for victims’ compensation.

Based on a true story the film, directed by Sara Colangelo (The Kindergarten Teacher) from a script by Max Borenstein, follows attorney and renowned mediator Kenneth Feinberg (Michael Keaton), who is appointed by Congress to lead the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. Along with his company’s head of operations Camille Biros (Amy Ryan), they have to decide how much each individual life is worth and so remunerate each family accordingly.

As Feinberg tells his law students, as far as the law is concerned this question has an answer: “The answer is a number and that’s the job.” But is the life of a CEO worth more than that of a low-paid cleaner or a firefighter who also lost their lives in the Twin Towers?

Lawyer Lee Quinn (Tate Donovan) makes just such a claim on behalf of his wealthy clients, who he feels should receive a higher amount. As Feinberg battles against bureaucracy and politics to help the victims of September 11, he comes across as an insensitive number-cruncher, particularly when he locks horns with Charles Wolf (Stanley Tucci), a community organiser who denounces the fund. “My wife died that day and everything about this formula [to work out the compensation] offends me,” he tells Feinberg as he advises him to visit his website, Fix the Fund.

All the families are grieving people who suffered heinous losses and are not just numbers. It is a complex but gripping and poignant drama, driven home by standout performances from its fine cast, particularly Keaton, Ryan and the wonderful Tucci, who never disappoints.

It is a thought-provoking film which highlights the injustice of the system and begs the question: how do you put a price on life?

Maria Duarte

In selected cinemas and available on Netflix