Synopsis
A newly married couple are forced to navigate the all-consuming interest of a powerful, mysterious, and possessive philanthropist.
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Cast
- Dakota FanningOlivia Harris
- Theo JamesLuke Harris
- Richard GereFrancis 'Franny' Watts
- Clarke PetersDr. Romano
- Cheryl HinesMia
- Dylan BakerBobby
- Tibor FeldmanDr. Sam
- Roy James WilsonCharlie
- Brian Anthony WilsonJesse
- Dennisha PrattSharon
Recommendations
- 70
Variety
The movie ends in a more conventional place than the one where it begins, yet it still marks a surprising and graceful first fiction feature for writer-director Andrew Renzi. - 60
Screen Daily
The actor’s comic sad clown performance lifts the film above an ordinary script. - 58
The A.V. Club
That makes the role well tailored to its occupant: Gere stays within his range of moneyed playboys, while still getting to indulge in the kind of unflattering behavior that a more put-together Richard Gere character would never exhibit. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Renzi's uneven script makes this a less sturdy vehicle than 2012's Arbitrage, and a less marketable one given the absence of thriller elements that sustained that film's character study. Still, there's plenty here for Gere's admirers to appreciate. - 50
The Playlist
It promises a minute character study, but Franny, though embodied by a game Gere who in all fairness does visit places in his performance we have rarely seen him even stop by before, is less a person than a collection of quirks. - 50
Village Voice
Sadly, The Benefactor proves less rich and engaging as it settles into its actual genre: It's yet another troubled-dude-starts-pulling-it-together tale. - 50
TheWrap
While writer-director Andrew Renzi’s feature narrative debut is problematic whenever Gere isn’t onscreen (and even sometimes when he is), the veteran star exudes a damaged magnetism reminiscent of the character studies that thrilled discerning moviegoers in the ’70s. - 40
New York Daily News
Old silver-fox Gere looks great. He’s almost embarrassingly charming — which is the point — but there’s not much else here.
