The gist of "The Benefactor" is that the main character named "Franny" Watts is independently wealthy and doles out money to his friends with an implicit quid pro quo. The beneficiaries become aware that they are enabling Franny's addiction to painkillers. The principal focus of the narrative is Franny's guilt for an auto accident in which his best friends were killed. Years later, he purchases their home as a gift to their beloved daughter whom Franny calls "Poodles."
The film was written a vehicle for Richard Gere in the role of Franny. But all of the character developments are sketchy, as the scenario is built around Gere's emotional outbursts. The thankless role of Poodles is played by Dakota Fanning, who never fully realizes that Franny was responsible for the auto accident that killed her parents when he was smoking marijuana and horsing around in the car.
Too much left unanswered in this film. Where did Franny get his money? Why wasn't the auto accident investigated and the lit marijuana cigarette found in the car? How could Poodles allow Franny to purchase the home and pay off her husband's medical school loans without wondering about about his motivation? How could Franny's addiction go undetected for so long?
Even die-hard Richard Gere fans will probably find this film perplexing and unconvincing. SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS: The ending in which Franny's bags are packed and he appears ready for a long trip was the final insult in a film that failed to address the topic raised by the filmmakers about the seriousness of addiction to painkillers.
The film was written a vehicle for Richard Gere in the role of Franny. But all of the character developments are sketchy, as the scenario is built around Gere's emotional outbursts. The thankless role of Poodles is played by Dakota Fanning, who never fully realizes that Franny was responsible for the auto accident that killed her parents when he was smoking marijuana and horsing around in the car.
Too much left unanswered in this film. Where did Franny get his money? Why wasn't the auto accident investigated and the lit marijuana cigarette found in the car? How could Poodles allow Franny to purchase the home and pay off her husband's medical school loans without wondering about about his motivation? How could Franny's addiction go undetected for so long?
Even die-hard Richard Gere fans will probably find this film perplexing and unconvincing. SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS: The ending in which Franny's bags are packed and he appears ready for a long trip was the final insult in a film that failed to address the topic raised by the filmmakers about the seriousness of addiction to painkillers.