The Phoenician Scheme is Wes Anderson’s latest offering, and as I’ve said before, if you like his style of film making you’ll probably like this as well. If you don’t care for that style, you probably shouldn’t waste your time, because this movie isn’t going to change your mind.
Zsa Zsa Korda has spent his life’s work scheming, lying, manipulating, and somehow surviving countless assassination attempts all leading him towards his most ambitious endeavor yet. As he moves to finalize the disparate projects in his wide-reaching enterprise, he also hopes to establish a legacy through his estranged daughter, Liesl, a candidate for the sisterhood and Korda’s appointed sole heir. As Korda and Liesl meet with business partners, negotiate with bitter adversaries, and deal with plane crashes, terrorist attacks, and potential poisonings, the various strands of his master plan threaten to unravel. Will Korda succeed in cementing his family’s fortune for the next 150 years? Will Liesl discover the truth about how her mother died? Will any of them survive to see Korda’s grand master plan put into action, if he even has one?
Phoenician Scheme is pretty standard Anderson fare, in terms of visuals, style, dialogue, acting and line delivery, etc. It’s a step back from some of the more acutely self-aware productions like Asteroid City or The French Dispatch and probably sits more closely to Grand Budapest in overall feel. The cast is, as ever, star studded. Benicio Del toro plays the titular tycoon, and he’s supported by Michael Cera, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston, Richard Ayoade, Willem Dafoe, and various others you will probably recognize. Mia Threapleton plays Liesl. There’s plenty of action, humor, and family drama, and the movie manages to navigate its director’s peculiarly farcical style while maintaining some heart in the end.
Phoenician Scheme is a good entry into the Wes Anderson catalog. If you’re into this catalog, you’ll definitely want to add this to your viewing list.