Richard Gere Deals With Survivor’s Guilt in ‘The Benefactor’

Sandra Miska

Richard Gere stars as an eccentric Philadelphia philanthropist named Francis “Franny” Watts in the drama “The Benefactor,” which debuted earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival. Despite having an obscene amount of wealth from unknown origins, Franny still enjoys a warm, close relationship with his college friends Mia (Cheryl Hines) and Bobby (Dylan Baker). The film opens with Franny telling his friends about the children’s hospital he is about to open. Mia and Bobby also have a reason to celebrate, as their only daughter Olivia (Dakota Fanning), with whom Franny also shares a close bond, is about to head to college. Their happiness doesn’t last long as tragedy strikes when Bobby and Mia are killed in a car accident. Franny, who was in the backseat, survives.

Five years later, a disheveled Franny is smoking weed alone when he receives a call from Olivia telling him that she is not only newly married and expecting, but she also wants to return home to Philadelphia. So overjoyed is Franny, who is single and doesn’t appear to have any family of his own, at the prospect of having his beloved Olivia back in Philadelphia that he offers her husband Luke (Theo James) a job at his hospital before he even meets him.

Once Olivia and Luke return to Philly, Franny, who is wracked with survivor’s guilt but also appears to genuinely care for Olivia, continues to shower the young couple with generosity by paying off Luke’s student loans and buying them Mia and Bobby’s old home, gifts they accept with mixed emotions. Luke is initially suspicious of the older man but effusive Franny eventually wears him down with his charms.

Franny obviously gets some kind of high from giving to others but it’s not the only high he enjoys. From the first post-accident scene it’s apparent that something isn’t right about him and this is confirmed when he corners Luke and asks him to write him a prescription for morphine.

It’s not long before Luke loses his patience with Franny and blows up. Luke’s anger doesn’t exactly come out of nowhere, although a few more scenes of escalation could have been inserted before the younger man reaches his boiling point.

“The Benefactor,” which is the debut feature of writer/director Andrew Renzi, is being marketed as a thriller and for much of the film the viewer awaits a major twist that never surfaces. Instead, the movie is more of a character study of a lonely man with a substance abuse problem and major boundary issues.

Gere is in his element as a gregarious eccentric rich guy, complete with funky scarves and a total disregard for grooming for much of the film. As for Fanning, she proves herself as a more mature actress but there are missed opportunities as her character fades into the background while Luke and Franny become chummy.

Renzi has said that his inspiration for Franny was the eccentric millionaire and convicted murderer John DuPont, whom Steve Carell portrayed in “Foxcatcher.” However, “The Benefactor” is a million miles away from that slow-burning drama with a much different ending that the viewer doesn’t see coming.

“The Benefactor” opens Jan. 15 in select theaters and on VOD.