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The Benefactor

The Benefactor (AKA Franny)

2015

Andrew Renzi

Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning, Theo James, Clarke Peters ...

4.4

686

Drama Richard Gere delivers a bravura performance as the title character, a rich eccentric man who worms his way into the lives of a deceased friend’s young daughter (Dakota Fanning) and her new husband (Theo James). Writer-director Andrew Renzi’s narrative feature debut Franny is a warm and winsome story that explores the pangs of the past and reflects on what it is to be family. Renzi displays the nuances of a seasoned storyteller, ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Ben Kenigsberg 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"
		Jessica Kiang IndieWire	"A character study of a character almost entirely composed of screenwriting conveniences and actorly flourishes"
		John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter	"An acting showcase that is less convincing than the performance at its heart (...) there's plenty here for Gere's admirers to appreciate"
		Stephen Holden The New York Times	"Gere's flamboyant performance is the sole raison d'être for this melodrama (...) Its other elements are given short shrift"
		Robert Abele The Wrap	"While 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"
		Sheri Linden Los Angeles Times	"What begins as an intriguing psychological thriller devolves into an addiction drama, growing less interesting as it proceeds and giving costars Dakota Fanning and Theo James little to do"

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