Worth turns a mountain of paperwork into an intimate character study, tracking the government mediator handed the impossible task of pricing what a life is worth after a national catastrophe.
What is Worth about?
The film follows Kenneth Feinberg, a high-powered Washington attorney named Special Master of the fund set up to compensate families after the September 11 attacks. Rather than a courtroom drama, it plays out in conference rooms and living rooms, as Feinberg's formulas collide with grief, resentment, and the plain fact that no spreadsheet can weigh a person's worth. Colangelo's direction favors quiet observation over speeches, letting the bureaucratic machinery of the fund reveal itself scene by scene. As families push back on the arithmetic used to value their loss, Feinberg is forced to rethink an approach built on precedent and distance rather than the people in front of him. The result is a drama about process as much as tragedy, about what happens when a legal system built for lawsuits is asked to do something closer to mourning.
About the cast
The ensemble is led by Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci, with Amy Ryan, Tate Donovan, Talia Balsam, Laura Benanti, Marc Maron and Bruce Soscia rounding out a cast built around long dialogue scenes rather than action.
Context & significance
Worth arrived in 2021 as part of a run of American dramas revisiting September 11 from an institutional angle rather than a survivor's-eye view. Directed by Sara Colangelo and set largely inside government offices and community meetings, it treats its Biography, Drama and Historical billing literally, sticking close to the mechanics of how the compensation fund was actually built and contested. Its reception was measured rather than rapturous, with critics generally praising the performances more than the pacing.
Watching Worth on Ktime
Worth is available to stream on K-Time with a free account login, and the page itself is free to browse. Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles are both available, so viewers can follow Feinberg's negotiations in Farsi audio or with Farsi subtitles over the original English performances.