(USA, 93 min.)
Written and directed by Andrew Renzi
Starring: Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning, Theo James, Cheryl
Hines, Dylan Baker, Clarke Peters
 |
| Courtesy of VVS Films |
It’s almost criminal that Richard Gere’s performance in The Benefactor probably won’t see as
large an audience as it deserves, but as the film bypasses Canuck theatres and
heads straight to video, the actor’s superior work might ultimately benefit
from a more modest reach. Gere’s turn in The
Benefactor ranks up there with his recent performances in Chicago, Arbitrage, and The Hoax
(which should have at least netted him an Oscar nom, but earned him bupkis),
although the film itself is simply good, not great. A big flashy release might
have brought a tepid response, yet moviegoers in search of hidden gems will
undoubtedly appreciate stumbling upon this promising first dramatic feature
from writer/director Andrew Renzi. The
Benefactor boasts an impressive ensemble headlined by one of Hollywood’s
top stars at his best.
Gere stars as an absolute trainwreck of a man named Franny, a wealthy architect and benefactor who throws money around to fill the void in his life. Franny’s philanthropic zaniness appears in full force when his love for weed and his absolute disregard for responsibility send his two best friends, Bobby (Dylan Baker) and Mia (Cheryl Hines), through their windshield. The accident leaves brutal physical and emotional scars on Franny, and it gives him a mild sense of accountability as he comes to support his friends’ orphaned daughter Olivia (Dakota Fanning, also quite good here). The car crash also marks Franny with a crippling addiction to painkillers, a convenient crutch that he uses to his advantage. He’s a man who gets what he wants.
Franny’s reckless sense of entitlement comes full circle
when Olivia, now pregnant, re-enters his life with her new husband Luke (Theo
James). Patron that he is, Franny pulls some strings and throws some money
around, netting Luke a job in the process and a home for Olivia and the baby,
which leaves her more uneasy than gratified. She has right to worry, though,
because her return only brings back the ghosts whirling about in Franny’s
memory bank. He can’t handle the pressure of things left unsaid and he spirals
out of control like a reckless junkie looking for a fix.
As Franny’s composure shatters, Gere is simply phenomenal playing
against type as a man whose potential for greatness relapses into a sweaty
frenzy that thirsts for instant gratification. Paranoid, edgy, and utterly
volatile, Franny holds multiple personas within the carefully mixed cocktail
that shakes beneath his surface. Gere shows the audience that this charismatic
and eloquent man has the potential for greatness, but he’s ultimately undone by
his own emptiness and fears of intimacy as he mixes drugs in search of the
right dosage to fill the void in his soul. Gere challenges the audience to
sympathise with this man whose complacency and misplaced privilege ultimately provide
a complex and fascinating character who holds the film together by conveying
how addictions and guilt eat at the soul.
James gives a fine supporting turn as Luke, who wrestles
with his own responsibilities and vices as Franny takes him under his wing and
seduces him with the intoxicating temptations of his lavish behaviour. The Benefactor, however, doesn’t really
know what to do with this testy relationship between the unstable Franny and
the young recipients of his charity and misguided goodwill, as it waffles
between the world of a thriller and realm of an art piece in a mix of underdeveloped
scenes that struggle to fit together. Renzi’s film might benefit from a little
more meat as the fast-paced drama could fill itself out in some moments to
develop the tensions brewing between Franny and his beneficiaries, and
ultimately give Gere even more heft to his great performance. As a character
study and actor’s showpiece, however, The
Benefactor is Gere at his deepest and darkest.
The disc: The
1080p HD transfer is dark and moody, and showcases Renzi’s promising visual
style in the atmospheric cinematography by Joe Anderson, while the 5.1 Dolby
True HD sound gives a nice gravelly layer to Franny’s voice.
The features: This
bare bones disc features just the movie and a range of options for languages
and subtitles, but finding a performance this good on a direct to video title
is a bonus in its own right.
The Benefactor comes to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital on April 26 from
VVS Films.
