Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone

The film opens with Benedict Stone and his wife Emilia meeting for breakfast two months into a trial separation. Emilia, an elementary school teacher and aspiring painter, expresses her exhaustion from years of failed fertility procedures and Benedict's inability to change. Benedict, a cautious jeweler who has kept his shop and home exactly the same for decades, struggles to accept the space she needs. Their lives change when Gemma, Benedict's 16-year-old niece, arrives from New Mexico. She claims her father, Charlie, sent her to meet the uncle he hasn't spoken to in twenty years. Gemma quickly realizes the state of Benedict's marriage and initiates 'Project W.E.B.' (Win Emilia Back), a rigorous regimen of exercise, healthy eating, and 'big gestures' to help Benedict woo his wife. As Benedict spends time with Gemma, he begins to design jewelry again, moving away from safe, standard pieces to creative, stone-focused art inspired by a journal his father kept. He learns that Gemma is actually a runaway who feels replaced by her father's new wife and impending twins. Meanwhile, the source of the rift between Benedict and Charlie is revealed: after their parents died in a tsunami, an 18-year-old Benedict used Charlie's inheritance to save the family business without his consent, leading Charlie to flee the day he turned 18. Benedict's attempts to win Emilia back are often awkward, including a Gemma-inspired plan to ride a white stallion to Emilia's art gallery opening. When the horse is injured, Benedict arrives with a llama named Maisy instead, leading to a bizarre but touching scene where he compares Emilia's grace to a llama's perseverance in rocky places. The tension culminates when Charlie arrives to retrieve Gemma. The brothers have a heated confrontation about the past, which Gemma overhears. Distraught, she runs into the woods and gets her foot trapped in a rockslide. Benedict and Charlie must work together to save her, leading to a tentative reconciliation. In the end, Benedict and Emilia realize they are enough for each other even without children. They renew their vows in a ceremony attended by their reunited family, and Benedict finally finds the courage to let go of his 'perfect' routine for a real, unpredictable life.