Michael Keaton is a legendary actor, having starred in many popular and award-winning films including Halloween classic Beetlejuice and Academy Award Best Picture winner Spotlight. And right now, Keaton’s new film is shooting up the Netflix charts, showing that he is still a top-class actor.
According to FlixPatrol’s figures, 2020’s Worth is currently the fifth most popular film on Netflix. It isn’t hard to see why; the film is both powerful and fascinating.
Worth is a biographical film that sees Keaton take the role of Kenneth Feinberg. In the days after the horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the American congress appoints someone to lead the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund. They eventually settle on attorney Kenneth Feinberg and put him to work.
However, this quickly becomes difficult as Kenneth has to decide the value of human life. This forces Kenneth to make hard decisions and question the events that unfolded on that dark day. When he starts to butt heads with Charles Wolf, a dedicated community organizer mourning the loss of his wife, Kenneth is forced to see the events from a totally different angle.
The film takes a deep and nuanced look at both the struggle Kenneth goes through and how the events of 9/11 affected the lives of many people in many different ways. Its meditations on the nature of grief and how our governmental systems interact with and often hinder it are thought-provoking. It is also genuinely moving at several points, something only made more intense by Keaton’s brilliant performance.
Alongside Keaton in the all-star cast is Stanley Tucci, who takes the role of Charles Wolf while Tate Donovan plays Lee Quinn. The film was directed by Sara Colangelo, the visionary behind 2014’s Little Accidents. The screenplay was written by legendary writer Max Borenstein, who has worked on many films including, Godzilla Vs Kong.
Worth was first released at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received a lot of praise. Netflix acquired the film’s distribution rights and released it onto their service on Sept. 3, 2021.
If you’re looking for a thought-provoking and fascinating drama, then you should give Worth a try. While the subject matter is heavy, it is treated with respect and care, and it presents a fascinating account of one of the unseen sides of the 9/11 attacks. Keaton’s acting shows just how difficult it is when politics, grief, and money collide and how decisions can weigh heavy on the shoulders of those who make them.