10 Best Movies Like Netflix’s Worth

Netflix’s new positively-reviewed biographical drama, Worth, traces the true story of Ken Fienberg (Michael Keaton), a real-life Washington lawyer who found himself in a moral dilemma following the September 11, 2001 attacks on American soil. Torn between his desire to reap personal financial rewards from the tragedy or dispense the funds to the victims of the attack, Feinberg must look deep in his heart and soul for answers.

Worth joins a rich tradition of compelling 9/11 dramas that only handle the material with the utmost honor and respect, but pose a personal quandary of some kind in the midst of such a huge national tragedy.

10 A Few Days In September (2006) – Currently Unavailable To Stream

In A Few Days in September, Argentine director Santiago Amigorena tells a remarkably human, compassionate, and sympathetic tale about the impending 9/11 attacks and the moral bind an American CIA Agent (Nick Nolte) finds himself in when he receives advanced intel about the attack 10 days before it happens.

While the film ultimately becomes an assassin thriller, the crushing ethical jam Elliot (Nolte) finds himself in once he gains the foreknowledge of the attack, is akin to the kind of internal struggle Feinberg faces in his 9/11 story.

9 Vice (2018) – Stream On Hulu

While Vice is billed as a humorous biography of former U.S Vice President Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), when the timeline comes to his involvement in the 9/11 attacks, the film becomes a harrowing glimpse of a man manipulating his way into power at a huge cost.

After convincing President Bush to cede his authority on energy, military, and foreign policy to Cheney, the Vice President moves to invade Afghanistan following 9/11. Much like Worth, Vice shows all of the dark and shrewd maneuvering that goes on behind the scenes in Washington.

8 United 93 (2006) – Stream On Fubo

Perhaps the greatest narrative feature about 9/11 ever made, Paul Greengrass’ intensely visceral portrait of American heroes sacrificing their life to save hundreds of others in United 93 is an absolute must-see. As an honorary salute to those who gave their lives, the movie could not be more respectful to their legacies.

The documentary-like film recounts with intense accuracy the hijacking of the titular airplane on 9/11, which fosters the utmost authenticity due to Greengrass casting unknown actors in lead roles. While their noble heroism trumps that of Feinberg, the unthinkable test of moral courage to do what those real-life passengers did for their fellow Americans highlights the best of humanity.

7 The Report (2019) – Stream On Amazon Prime Video

Scott Z. Burns’ acclaimed 2019 biographical crime drama, The Report, is seen through the eyes of Daniel Jones (Adam Driver in one of his best movies) a quixotic senatorial staffer caught in a severe ethical squeeze upon uncovering unlawful torture methods used by the CIA following the 9/11 attacks.

With flashbacks to the tragic 2001 event and present-day in 2005, the film is a sweeping indictment of the CIA’s interrogation program, leading to a scathing 6,700-report by Jones, who slowly overcomes his idealism to become a whistleblower. As the most recent real-life story based on the 9/11 aftermath, The Report is almost certainly the best movie to watch with Worth as a double feature.

6 Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (2011) – Stream On Apple+

For more of a human story with less political intrigue, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a touching tale of a young boy and his family reeling over his father’s death in the 9/11 attacks. It’s the perfect emotional antidote to the cynicism imbued by Feinberg early in his story.

Seeing such a large-scale tragedy through the eyes of a quirky nine-year-old boy like Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) and the way he handles his loss, recalling moving flashbacks to his time with his father Thomas (Tom Hanks), and the profound bond he makes with an elderly renter (Max Von Sydow) in his apartment building, offers a wistful dose of uplifting optimism.

5 Reign Over Me (2007) – Stream On Starz Play

Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle give two of their best performances in Reign Over Me, a cathartic and therapeutic glimpse at a man leaning on an old friend after he loses his wife and daughters in the 9/11 tragedy. Despondent following such an unfathomable loss, Charlie (Sandler) finds a ray of hope when he runs into his old college roommate, Alan (Cheadle), and begins an unlikely healing process.

Devoid of all the political subplots that Worth boasts, the life-affirming humanity demonstrated by the characters is a quality Feinberg eventually arrives at himself. Both films are about the maddening internal struggle the main characters face in the wake of unparalleled tragedy and the strength they find to do the right thing.

4 World Trade Center (2006) – Stream On Amazon Prime Video

Oliver Stone focuses one of his best films, World Trade Center, on the riveting rescue of John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), two heroic Port Authority officers who were trapped beneath the rubble of the titular building on 9/11.

As a harrowing docudrama survival thriller, the film has no shortage of hair-raising moments of visceral terror. As a human rescue story, the film becomes about the unbreakable bonds of brotherhood among 9/11 first responders and survivors alike. Much like Worth, it deals with the direct ramifications of the survivors of the tragic event and how much they deserved to be repaid for their efforts.

3 W. (2008) – Stream On HBO Max

Two years after World Trade Center, Oliver Stone returned to the subject matter in his presidential biopic, W. While far less focused on the one key event, the film still paints the moral quandary the leader of the free world suddenly found himself in on September 11th.

As a germane companion piece to both Vice and Worth, W. gets to the heart of the unimaginable pressures of leading such a large throng of citizens to safety and well-being in the chaotic aftermath of 9/11. President George W. Bush’s (Josh Brolin) role and his handing of unprecedented powers to the Vice President, Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), offers a fascinating look at the ethical responsibilities of all involved.

2 Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) – Stream On Starz Play

Although it’s the one movie that doesn’t deal with the 9/11 attacks directly, Charlie Wilson’s War does entail the complex geopolitics in the 1980s that exacerbated tensions between the U.S. and Afghanistan, laying the blueprint for the eventual 2001 attack on U.S. soil. It’s a great film to watch before Worth to help contextualize 40 years of complicated foreign policy.

Directed by the late great Mike Nichols, the film offers a lighthearted dose of levity to go with a serious subject, boasting stellar performances by Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman in real-life roles that make it one of the most beloved political comedies.

1 Zero Dark Thirty (2012) – Stream On Starz Play

Kathryn Bigelow’s sprawling historical thriller Zero Dark Thirty not only recounts the decade-long hunt for Osama Bin Laden by the U.S. military and intelligence agencies, but it also presents a major moral conundrum over the nature of illegal water-boarding as a form of torture.

As such, despite the harrowing combat scenes in the Middle East, the movie presents the compelling flipside of the coin laid out in Worth, calling into question the massive risk one heroic person, Maya Harris (Jessica Chastain), must wager to save countless lives. While they operate differently, Ken and Maya prove their true heroism in the face of tremendous pressure following 9/11.