“Worth”: A Netflix Movie Review

By carolinianweb on September 14, 2021 • ( 0 )

Maggie Collins

Senior Staff Writer

Recently, Netflix released a movie called “Worth,” which is a film based around the tragedies that occurred on 9/11/2001 and the ensuing pressure placed upon the US government to retaliate. This movie can be seen as a memorial since it was released only eight days before the anniversary of this day.

The movie begins by highlighting the ordinary lives of the citizens living in New York whose world is suddenly upended when the Twin Towers begin to fall. The main character in this film goes by the name of Ken Feinberg who is a lawyer. After the events of 9/11, the government was afraid of the lawsuits they might get from everyone through the airlines.

Feinberg decided to take on the role of “The Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.” He knew that this would come with many risks and backlash because he would be giving money out based on what he believed was the worth of each person’s life. This would be hard for anyone to do because if we ask ourselves “How much do you believe you’re worth? Or your best friend? Or your family?” many, like me, would be left speechless. It is a very hard question to answer, especially when you don’t even know the people whose lives you’re placing a monetary value upon.

Feinberg was not the most sympathetic person for the job, as he was largely focused on the monetary aspect of his job, which made him completely blind to the grief of the families. He had not fully grasped that this job was different from any ordinary case. This was a case that involved almost 3,000 murdered Americans.

As time passed on, Feinberg started realizing what these families were trying to tell him about their grief: how their loved ones were more than a formula that could be mathematically applied to every person to determine their worth. With the help of his workers and some of his haters, he started to think of a better way to do his job.

By the end of the film, you see a more sentimental side of Ken Fienberg. It’s almost as if his character completely flips the switch. He now has sympathy for each individual and wants to meet with the families to hear about the people lost instead of letting his assistants do all the emotional work. By the deadline of this fund, he had distributed over 7 billion dollars to 5,562 people.

Throughout the film, you are able to hear about the many families and those who passed away that day, as well as the plans they made for their futures that never came to fruition. You learn about the mundane things they did the day they died, and how they wished they would have taken just a few more minutes to appreciate their precious time with each other. Many stories brought tears to the workers and some stories were just too hard to hear.

I believe that this is a magnificent film to watch to understand the government’s side of this horrible event, especially so close to the anniversary of 9/11. I have personally seen many documentaries and movies about 9/11, but this is one of the first that I saw having to do with the government’s perspective. I was able to gain a whole new insight, while also remembering the ones who lost their lives on that day.

Your heartstrings will be pulled while watching this and imagining the horror that took place that day. While many of us are at the age where we weren’t born when this occurred, it is still a hugely important part of our history.