Benefactor, The (15)

Drama

A philanthropist meddles in the lives of newly-married couples in an attempt to relive his past.

The critical consensus

Richard Gere does his best as a tortured philanthropist but this potboiler never fulfils its promise after an atmospheric start.

(*) (*) (*) Benjamin Lee, The Guardian, 25/02/2016

Richard Gere gives a full-blooded and very rich performance as the "benefactor" in the writer-director Andrew Renzi's drama. The hitch is that his character is so overpowering and so obnoxious that audiences are likely to find him as much of a trial as the young couple (Dakota Fanning and Theo James) whose lives he attempts to mould.

(*) (*) (*) Geoffrey MacNab, The Independent, 25/02/2016

Gere is very good as the larger-than-life Franny but the film is too slight to do his performance justice.

(*) (*) (*) Allan Hunter, Daily Express, 26/02/2016

Richard Gere gets creepy with Dakota Fanning in this uninspired drama about a philanthropist with a dark side.

(*) (*) (*) (*) Mark Kermode, The Observer, 28/02/2016