The Benefactor review: Richard Gere’s bravura performance as an eccentric philanthropist on the edge is worth the price of admission, despite the film’s prosaic junkie storyline.
The Benefactor review by Sacha Hall. Premiering his first narrative feature in competition at the 14th Tribeca Film Festival, writer/director Andrew Renzi’s The Benefactor is an at oft times compelling, oft times prosaic drama about an eccentric philanthropist teetering on the edge of his demons and addictions.
Mired in guilt and grief from the loss of his beloved best friends Mia (Cheryl Hines) and Bobby (Dylan Baker) in a motor vehicle accident he inadvertently caused five years previous, wealthy philanthropist Francis ‘Franny’ L. Watts (Richard Gere) is a shadow of his former self. First seen at the beginning of the film as a flamboyant and clean-shaven businessman, unapologetically living and enjoying single life with few obligation, Franny now lives a dishevelled and solitary life; holed up in a luxurious hotel, drunk and high on a cocktail of pain-medications and alcohol.
A chance for atonement and a renewed sense of purpose arises when he receives a phone call from their orphaned daughter Olivia (Dakota Fanning); a surrogate daughter to Franny, whom he affectionately calls Poodles. Newly married to Luke (Theo James) and expecting their first child, Olivia reveals their decision to return to Philadelphia now that Luke has graduated medical school.
Desirous to be in their lives and eager to help in anyway he can, Franny soon becomes a whirlwind of generosity; bestowing the couple with Olivia’s childhood home, paying off Luke’s student loans and finding him a position on staff at the children’s hospital he built with Olivia’s father.
Uncomfortable with Franny’s increasing insinuation into their lives, Luke soon becomes concerned that Franny’s altruism veils a darker intent. It is at this point that the film takes an expected and inevitable turn to Franny’s demons and addiction; cornering Luke in a dressing room and asking him to refill a prescription for morphine.
Gere delivers a bravura performance as the flamboyant, yet troubled Franny – his onscreen decline, particularly, the scene with his doctor, is utterly captivating. Kudos also to Fanning and James who manage credible performances despite Renzi’s underdeveloped characters and underutilisation of their enviable talent. The choice to not deepen the connection and complex relationship between Olivia and Franny was, I believe, a missed opportunity.
The semi-detachment of Renzi’s characters are complemented however, by Joe Anderson’s gorgeous shots and tight framing.
Overall, the film is a promising debut that could have benefitted from a couple more rewrites but they however, are overshadowed by Gere’s compelling portrait of a man in decline.
The Benefactor review by Sacha Hall, February 2016.
The Benefactor is released in UK cinemas on Friday 26th February, 2016.
