Wes Anderson Finds an Emotional Core for His Usual Quirks in The Phoenician Scheme: Review

Wes Anderson loves to craft. It’s a quality that’s defined him as a filmmaker from the beginning of his career to his newest movie, The Phoenician Scheme: His films always have a handmade touch. Not just in the way the sets are designed with great attention and care, but the way he peppers his stories with quirks that feel singular to his vision as a creator. Anderson seems like he’d be easy to parody or mimic — plenty of folks try all the time — but then you sit down with his newest concoction and realize what a foolish endeavor that is. Whatever he makes, it’s unmistakably by him.

Only occasionally does it feel too familiar: Part of that is the way Anderson’s work has evolved over time, the influences or collaborators from one project paying forward to the next. He’s in an especially presentational mode at the moment, maybe as a result of making his Oscar-winning quartet of Roald Dahl adaptation shorts for Netflix. Yet thanks to its strong core cast, The Phoenician Scheme avoids too much of the reserve that comes with that approach, instead delivering a story with some real heart to it.

The Phoenician Scheme opens with Anatoly “Zsa-Zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro) surviving yet another assassination attempt — an occupational hazard for him, as a 1950s industrialist with a history of shady business dealings and many enemies. Following his latest brush with death, he decides to reconnect with his 20-year-old daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton): While Liesl was brought up in a convent and plans to become a nun, Zsa-Zsa goes ahead and names her his heir.

Accompanied by Bjørn (Michael Cera), a hapless Norwegian tutor who’s taken a shine to Liesl, the three of them set out to complete the final phases of an epic construction project that requires a number of people all agreeing to invest. Many of those people (family, old friends) hate Zsa-Zsa’s guts (often for understandable reasons). This complicates matters.

The titular scheme is a complicated one, necessitating several trips around the vaguely fictional eastern Europe region where the action is focused, and each one of the trio’s stops on their tour brings with it an appearance or two from members of Anderson’s increasingly famous established ensemble: This includes Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston as potential partners for Zsa-Zsa’s endeavor, Scarlett Johansson as another partner/potential fiancee for Zsa-Zsa, Richard Ayoade as a revolutionary leader, and Jeffrey Wright as a ship captain.

There’s also Bill Murray literally playing God, in a series of scenes where Zsa-Zsa seemingly lingers in the space between life and death — scenes which add some minor bits of revelation, but might be considered largely unessential (though they do mean cameos from Murray, Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg and others). Still, it’s all in the spirit of play that comes with an Anderson movie; the sense that all these actors are having a great time dressing up in funny costumes and saying silly things for their ol’ pal Wes. A lark, if you’re in the right mood for it. (An annoyance, if Anderson’s not your cup of tea.)

If you crave movies shot on location, this one’s definitely not for you: Anderson constructs his little worlds on soundstages, all fully realized and lush with details. While it never feels fully organic, it also never feels constrained; instead, Anderson and production designer Adam Stockhausen provide beautifully designed stages for the action to take place.

What stands out most about Phoenician Scheme is how despite it being a definitively Anderson movie, it avoids feeling stale or shallow in the way that some of his less-memorable efforts can. This is due to the sweetness found in its central father-daughter pairing: “I’m new to my family,” Liesl says at one point, an elegant way of encapsulating the awkwardness she feels outside of her convent home. By the end, she’s embraced her family — and totally reinvented it.

Del Toro already proved his ability to slip into Anderson’s world in The French Dispatch — meanwhile, Mia Threapleton might be the daughter of filmmaker Jim Threapleton and Kate Winslet, but she feels like she was born for this specific cinematic world. (This is her first lead role, though she previously had supporting parts in the TV adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons, Firebrand, and Apple TV+’s The Buccaneers.) It’s a complicated relationship between two deeply reserved people, but one that comes alive thanks to the way del Toro and Threapleton are able to develop their bond.

Asteroid City was a fascinating movie thanks to the way it witnessed Anderson interrogating his own instincts as a storyteller; Phoenician Scheme, by comparison, is a more standard Anderson narrative, constructed around vignettes filled with recognizable quirks. Yet though the plot might feel a bit overly complicated, given the level of Serious Business being discussed in serious tones by these characters, it never drowns out the key emotional connection. There’s nothing seismic here, just a colorful, enjoyable yarn by one of the best cinematic confectioners around. One with some real heart to it.

The Phoenician Scheme premieres in limited release on Friday, May 30th before going wide on June 6th. Check out the trailer below.