The price of a life
PUTTING A DOLLAR VALUE ON THE LIVES OF 9/11 VICTIMS IS A FRAUGHT TASK
WORTH (M) Director: Sara Colangelo (The Kindergarten Teacher)
Starring: Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, Amy Ryan.
Rating: ★★★★ Before they were numbers they had names
The quietly eloquent and undeniably compelling new drama Worth has a rather unsavoury question to ask. It is one of those awkward, confronting queries for which there is no possibility of an accurate (or even vaguely satisfactory) answer: What is the precise monetary value of a single human life? Most people would prefer not to even think of such a figure, let alone say the number out loud. However, less than two decades ago, it came down to one man to privately estimate, and then very publicly declare the financial worth of over 3000 American people. Not one of these people would hear the sum this fellow had in mind for the value of the lives they had lived. All of them had perished in an unthinkable, unprecedented terrorist incident: the September 11, 2001, attacks upon New York City and the Pentagon. It is in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 that Worth begins. The US Government has quickly realised that the surviving families of victims could cause the entire nation’s economy to implode, should they pursue federal authorities and aviation companies in the courts. One national emergency could inadvertently trigger another – a Great Depression, no less – unless a way of avoiding this litigation Armageddon could be found. Once a hypothetical solution is determined, it is left to a lawyer named Kenneth Feinberg (brilliantly played by Michael Keaton) to make it a reality. The unheralded (and unpaid) Feinberg is given the mercilessly thankless task of heading what becomes known as the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Together with key employees of his small Washington firm, Feinberg has a tight deadline of two years in which to hear the stories of more than 10,000 people who lost someone in the attacks, and then somehow translate this painfully raw anecdotal evidence into an irrefutable final number on a printed page. Scaling down the momentous complexities of such a project to fit the simplistic needs of a feature film is a difficult task, and there are a handful of moments in Worth where it seems the production is a little too ambitious for its own good. However, whenever the narrative snaps back to the recollections of those with a hole in their lives that will never be filled again, Worth immediately rewards and enlightens the viewer. Not just by highlighting the harmful blind spots that can hamper justice in such desperate situations, but also by showing the healing power of listening to those
CINDERELLA (PG) Rating: ★★★
AMAZON PRIME
This umpteenth “new” screen adaptation of what, for many, is the greatest old-school fairy tale of them all is not much of a movie. But that is only if you’re a stickler for consistent quality, ambition and creativity in all departments. However, if you fell hopelessly in love with Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman for simply doubling down on the music, the mushy sentiment and the mindless razzamatazz of it all, then this sparkly, spinning bauble of a picture will keep delivering more (and more, and more!) of the same until its final frames. In a better than passable cinema debut, popular Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello keeps us on-side with the title character as she looks to lift herself out of her dank basement by becoming a famous dressmaker. En route to making her dreams a reality – and stopping the show with a pre-midnight appearance at the Royal Ball – Cinders might also bag herself a hot young prince (Nicholas Galitzine) as an added happilyever-after bonus. But only if a meddling stepmum (Idina Menzel) and a crotchety King (Pierce Brosnan) can be kept in check. While some will find the comic tone a bit scattershot, an equally esoteric songbook (in which a few catchy originals sit alongside covers by the likes of Janet Jackson, The White Stripes and Salt-N-Pepa) actually works in the movie’s favour.
SUMMERLAND (M) Rating: ★★★
BINGE or RENT
A lot of people will get one whiff of the core premise of Summerland – bright, sensitive kid leaves WWII London to take shelter with gruff, reluctant guardian – and turn up their nose. Yes, you have seen this kind of movie before. On a few occasions, probably. Nevertheless, this rendition carries with it an allembracing sense of kindness and depth of feeling that transcends the overly familiar plotting. Gemma Arterton stars as Alice, a reclusive writer living and working alone in the countryside of Kent. Though not the happiest of people at the best of times, Alice really cracks the sads when she learns she must look after the politely precocious Frank (Lucas Bond). An initially icy reception for the child thaws into a vaguely warm welcome once Alice senses a trusting nature to Frank that she herself could learn something from. And so, Alice revisits a story about herself she has dared not tell anyone before. A story swathed in a secrecy that has both defined and damned Alice for far too long. Exquisitely acted and filmed, this low-key British drama does have its scripting issues, but will definitely reward those prepared to accept its honourable flaws.