The Benefactor

Something has taken hold of Richard Gere, and it's marvelous to see. Last year he gave what I felt was one of the best five performances of the year in "Time Out of Mind". In that role he went completely against type and gave a quiet, small, and incredible subtle performance that was magical. In "The Benefactor", Gere went the opposite route and went through a cacophony of emotions in very short spans of time. He was elated, depressed, confused, shamed, angry, and heartbroken, all within a matter of seconds. It was a true master class in acting and something I never would have thought in him. If only the rest of the film stood up to his performance, but sadly it did not. The script was bland, and Dakot Fanning was utterly wasted. I liked the direction and will be interested to see what this new director does next. All the stars for Gere though - he's just on fire. I think back to "Manglehorn" and I feel sure that, were he cast in that, it would have been transcendent. 3.5/5

The Benefactor on Netflix