The Benefactor (15.)
Directed by Andrew Renzi.
Starring Richard Gere, Theo James, Dakota Fanning, Dylan Baker, Cheryl Hines and Clarke Peters. 90 mins
If an actor is irritating playing an irritating character, does that mean they've done a good job or a bad one? The title character in Renzi's debut feature is a narcissistic multi-millionaire philanthropist who wants to be loved and adored by everybody but doesn't like them to get too close. That shouldn't be too much of a stretch for a movie star, especially one like Richard Gere, but it is almost unbearable to watch him go through his range of audience ingratiating tricks. He's a busy boy in this film, always cutting his hair, laughing indulgently and showboating in any direction that will have him. He's annoying, but in character.
A clear story might have helped. Five years after the death of her parents, in a car crash with their best friend Francis (Gere), Olivia (Fanning) gets back in touch with the man who had once been her favourite uncle to try and get a job for her new husband Luke (James.) Luke is a doctor, Francis is the patron of a hospital, no problem. The price of his largesse is that he begins to take an overbearing and controlling influence on their lives, effectively shaping their lives through his largesse.
The Benefactor is one of those autumnal dramas that drift along having imbibed a little too much on their own melancholy and with no clear idea as to what it is about. The initial focus is on the relationship between Gere and Fanning but quickly loses interest in her and becomes more about the battle for control between the two men and finally rests on Gere and his battles with his grief fueled demons.
Directed by Andrew Renzi.
Starring Richard Gere, Theo James, Dakota Fanning, Dylan Baker, Cheryl Hines and Clarke Peters. 90 mins
If an actor is irritating playing an irritating character, does that mean they've done a good job or a bad one? The title character in Renzi's debut feature is a narcissistic multi-millionaire philanthropist who wants to be loved and adored by everybody but doesn't like them to get too close. That shouldn't be too much of a stretch for a movie star, especially one like Richard Gere, but it is almost unbearable to watch him go through his range of audience ingratiating tricks. He's a busy boy in this film, always cutting his hair, laughing indulgently and showboating in any direction that will have him. He's annoying, but in character.
A clear story might have helped. Five years after the death of her parents, in a car crash with their best friend Francis (Gere), Olivia (Fanning) gets back in touch with the man who had once been her favourite uncle to try and get a job for her new husband Luke (James.) Luke is a doctor, Francis is the patron of a hospital, no problem. The price of his largesse is that he begins to take an overbearing and controlling influence on their lives, effectively shaping their lives through his largesse.
The Benefactor is one of those autumnal dramas that drift along having imbibed a little too much on their own melancholy and with no clear idea as to what it is about. The initial focus is on the relationship between Gere and Fanning but quickly loses interest in her and becomes more about the battle for control between the two men and finally rests on Gere and his battles with his grief fueled demons.
