An exclusive interview with director SARA COLANGELO talking in-depth about one of the complex issues surrounding the attacks of 9/11, the Victim Compensation Fund, now brought to the big screen with the narrative film WORTH. Written by Max Borenstein and adapted from Special Master attorney Ken Feinberg’s memoirs, WORTH is a film that’s more than worth your time and your compassion.
The synopsis of WORTH provided by Netflix describes the film thus: Following the horrific 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Congress appoints attorney and renowned mediator Kenneth Feinberg (Michael Keaton) to lead the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Assigned with allocating financial resources to the victims of the tragedy, Feinberg and his firm’s head of operations, Camille Biros (Amy Ryan), face the impossible task of determining the worth of a life to help the families who had suffered incalculable losses. When Feinberg locks horns with Charles Wolf (Stanley Tucci), a community organizer mourning the death of his wife, his initial cynicism turns to compassion as he begins to learn the true human costs of the tragedy. . .Based on true events, WORTH is a moving reminder of the power of empathy and the value of human connection.
Valuing human life is one of the most difficult tasks one can face, especially for an attorney in a situation where death has occurred. What is the worth of a human life? During my own decades in my other life in the legal community, wrongful death cases and valuation of “loss of life” were never easy. Sure, there are actuary tables and statistics and formulas to use for calculation of tangible “monetary damages”, but is that really the right way to value a life? Does it actually value a life? In California, the law goes so far as in medical negligence cases to cap the “non-economic” value of a life at $250,000. That number has remained in force for more than 40 years since the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 became law. That’s all emotional damage, the “elan” of life is worth? Unfortunately, laws like that and actuary tables are the only tools often utilized to determine economic compensation for a loss. But what about a situation like 9/11 and the incalculable losses of thousands of families and individuals from all walks of life?
Do you look at a formula to determine worth? Do you split the pie equally or dole out funds based on actuary tables and figures taking income, education, etc. into consideration? Or do you look at the individual? What is their contribution? What is their worth? Is the life of a CEO worth more than a junkie from the street? What if a student was destined to become the next Bill Gates were it not for his life being cut short? Or a seven-figure a year CEO falls by the wayside ten years down the road and dies at age 50? There is a lot of “what ifs” in the scenario and Special Master Ken Feinberg, his law partner and firm head of operations Camille Biros, and his law firm had to answer those questions in their work administering the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. It required not only the wisdom of Job, but the heart of a man.
Now in the 20th year since the terror attacks of 9/11, victim identification continues as does administration of Fund benefits, particularly as to the first responders who have developed various cancers and other illnesses now attributed to the components of the rubble they spent days and weeks and months sifting through. But how many of us even know about Ken Feinberg and Camille Biros and their pro bono work as Special Masters of the Victim Compensation Fund? Thanks to director SARA COLANGELO and screenwriter Max Borenstein, you are about to find out.
Already known for her exemplary storytelling with the acclaimed Little Accidents and The Kindergarten Teacher, with WORTH, Colangelo ups the ante to deliver a powerful and compelling cinematic telling of this chapter in the history of 9/11. With a cast led by Michael Keaton in an award-worthy turn as Ken Feinberg, WORTH also stars Stanley Tucci, Amy Ryan, Tate Donovan, Laura Benanti, Shunari Ramanathan, and Talia Balsam, each brings a humanized emotional resonance to each character and the film as a whole. Watching Keaton is a master class in acting.
While focusing on performance and examining the human condition and human emotion, Colangelo uses all the tools in the cinematic toolbox to immerse us in the story, in the emotional conflict, in the humanity. Calling on the talents of cinematographer Pepe Avila del Pino, editor Julia Block, production designer Tommaso Ortino, and composer Nico Muhly, production values soar with subtlety and nuance, tacitly speaking to the tragedy and Feinberg’s task at hand. But above all, Colangelo is respectful of the event, of the Fund, of the work of Feinberg, and most importantly, the victims and their families.
Nothing was off-limits as SARA COLANGELO and I dug into the making of WORTH as we discussed, among others:
- choosing WORTH as her third feature film
- cinematography and using the camera as an expositionary tool for character development
- the importance of breathing room and silence
- casting and performances
- working with Ken Feinberg and Camille Biros
- interviewing victims’ family members
- the editing process
- judicious selection of news footage and imagery from 9/11
- the importance of respect for the solemnity of the event, the real life individuals portrayed, the victims and their families
- never losing sight of the human toll, the emotional toll
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview September 3, 2021
WORTH will be on Netflix in select markets on Friday, September 3
