Worth (2020)

A new movie on Netflix where Michael Keaton offered to be the bad guy in one of the worst time period in US, thinking that he was making a difference.

I don't know anything about this situation, nor do I understand all the terms used in this movie. Because of this, I only judge the movie for what was on the screen.

Wow this was an impactful movie. Our main character, played by Michael Keaton, was portrayed as a proud but awkward man when it comes to interacting with others. The way he reacted and responded to some characters baffled me and was just awkwardly hilarious. It was a journey for him to properly sympathize and empathize.

This was where the complicated stuff came in. Each side, the victim's loved ones and the law firm, had their own situations and valid reasonings for their goals. It clearly wasn't an easy situation for the firm and Michael Keaton's character, and I myself wasn't sure what I would have done if I was in his shoe. Although this complexed situation changed the main character, at the end it wasn't entirely clear how exactly he solved the situation. I wasn't 100% convinced of the transition.

However, another great aspect from the movie was that the writer and director paid respect to the victims by spending a large chunk of the runtime dedicating to individual stories. Some were honestly heartbreaking. I'm glad that I was able to listen to the whole stories from many people.

Overall, great performance and complexed arguments made for a deep and impactful movie. 8.5/10.

Fmovies: This is a difficult job to negotiate a fair settlement for the victims of any tragedy, and most insurance and large corporations have formulas for paying out in the case of injuries and death. Everyone knows this from old motor vehicle recalls and class action lawsuits.

So when people start saying it's not about the money, well, it's about the money and they want more is all.

Maybe the adjuster listened to more people and tinkered with his formula in order to get more claimants to sign on, but the bottom line is that he just paid them more is all. This obvious oversight is completely missed in the film and we are all supposed to believe that everyone agreed on their settlements 'cause it was good for the economy to recover and move on. Sure. Believe that with a truckload of salt.

Everyone just wants a chance to spill their story and help persuade other into thinking that their loved one was someone special and deserved more than average. This film does nothing to convince me that thousands of people agreed to settle last minute out of the goodness of their hearts.

Why make a film if you are going to gloss over the catalyst of the entire negotiation ?????? 3 stars for drama, but nothing really compelling to recommend this.

Money makes the world around and most of times everyone tend to forget how important people are, more even if their lives are shattered or lost. And in a deeply fierced and greedy system like this, we ought to forget our human values. So it's refreshing to watch a drama like this and feel genuinely moved by it. It's a small Big movie. One that made me wish that all the righteous and social work made by the protagonists were abosulutely truthful. A feel good movie about a shattering tragedy that stills shake the world today, at the same time that reminds us there's still good people out there to help you and help themselves in learning to do so. An excellent surprise!

Worth fmovies. I would say three of the hardest jobs in America during and after 9/11 was being an air traffic controller and a first responder during 9/11, and then being Mr. Feinberg and his firm after. Seriously, I have so much respect for people who are willing to do the work nobody else wants to do. God bless them!

Kenneth Feinberg as first written by Kenneth Feinberg in his book, from which the Netflix-distributed "Worth" is based, "What Is Life Worth?, comes off quite well here, including being portrayed by the likeable Michael Keaton. Now, I don't know whether Feinberg deserves such a portrayal or not and, as his character in the movie might at least say, it doesn't really matter--it isn't about whether he deserves it or not. The bottom line is it's self-serving--about the ego that Feinberg in the movie is even willing to admit might've played a role in him taking on the job of determining how to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund enacted by Congress to, as the movie says, prevent the airlines from being sued and that potentially leading to general economic damage. Consequently, as far as the movie is concerned, Feinberg is "the bridge," which is to say it's about him.

Regardless, it's a grim job, I concede, but it doesn't necessarily make for an uplifting or heartwarming drama. Indeed, it seems the turning point is the concession that "Moneyball" on tort law for actuaries doesn't make for a good movie. Besides, Feinberg's mathematical formula is supposedly above reproach, as if it were an objective science and not based on capitalist and other philosophical assumptions. This isn't calculating the distance between the Sun and the planets. So, we get a movie about Feinberg listening to the families of the 9/11 victims tell their stories about their lost loved ones--not a movie about the families telling those stories. Its background in the horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks may be moving, but it's a dull, even formulaic, legal drama otherwise.

The main artistic thing this one tries to do, too, has been done better before, which is to place an appreciation of art within the art that is the movie. In this case, it's opera. "Philadelphia" (1993) and who knows how many other films have done this before. Another picture I saw recently, "Margaret" (2011), which is set around Manhattan and also, albeit less so, references 9/11, exploits opera far more thoroughly and in interesting ways. Here, it merely humanizes the character and provides for his eureka moment of what's portrayed as being little more than a change in marketing strategy to enlist signatures to the fund. Quite disappointing for a star-studded release timed before the upcoming 20th anniversary of 9/11. The cold calculation being that the loss of this movie would be negligible.

Worth is not an adventure movie; it is a process movie. The changes are very small; it affects the attorneys, victims, and other advocates.

The individual performancesb Michael Keaton and Stanley Gucci provide gravitas for the entire movie.