Hey everybody and welcome to a brand new review! This time, I will be taking a look at the latest film from prolific indie filmmaker, Wes Anderson! Ever since jumping onto the scene with Bottle Rocket back in 1996, he has really made a name for himself as one of the most recognizable and influential voices in the filmmaking world with an impressive output filled with acclaimed favorites. I myself have only seen a handful of his movies (those being Fantastic Mr. Fox, The French Dispatch, and The Royal Tenenbaums), but I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen and find his sensibilities to be up my alley. Thus, I was eager to check out this new film from him that seemed to serve up what he does best, with a stacked ensemble cast per usual. Was he able to deliver another winner? Let’s jump right in and see how just how far this scheme went!
The feature follows one very wealthy businessman by the name of Zsa-Zsa Korda, who has become infamous around the world due to his immense wealth and often unethical business practices. He has also become the target of various assassination attempts throughout the years with this latest one giving him a realization that he cannot keep at this forever. So, he calls in his only daughter, who’s also a catholic nun, Sister Liesel, to convince her to quit her role in the church and take over the family business. Considering the two have a very tumultuous relationship as Korda sent her to the convent at a very young age and Liesel believes he murdered her mother, Liesel isn’t exactly jumping up and down at this opportunity. Nonetheless, Korda bring her as well as his newly hired Norwegian tutor, Bjorn, in tow on a mission in order to enact a new venture that has all his fortune on the line, which involves changing the infrastructure of Phoenicia and swindling his investors into covering the budget. All the while various assassins and governments try and stop him.
There has been a fair bit of discourse surrounding Anderson and how his movies tend to be the same or lack any sort of emotion to them. I can understand his style not being for everyone and how it can become tiring to some… but I personally disagree with these notions. His way of writing and directing movies hasn’t gotten old for me as I just find his way of presenting these offbeat stories so wonderfully and Phoenician Scheme is no different. It has a simple story structure where we just follow Korda and co. going around Phoenicia and meeting with the various investors, but Anderson is able to keep it engaging with plenty of surprise obstacles along the journey as well as some revelations and plot turns that help to give the characters more depth. There’s even this theme of existentialism permeated throughout that makes the proceedings even more interesting when one views them through Korda’s perspective as he finds himself questioning his life and his meaning as a person which is wonderfully represented through brief interludes in the Afterlife.
The script is fantastic with Andersons’s usual quirky, but oftentimes impactful dialogue that both manages to bring out a lot of laughs and convey the character’s thoughts compellingly. I highly enjoy his knack for creating worlds that have all of these absurd events going on, yet the characters play it straight in a way that is genuine and never gets annoying. He’s also able to juggle a lot here in regards to ideas related to familial disputes, ideas of faith and religion the conflicted way they affect our characters, and how capitalism can serve as a often unhealthy driving force for those with a lot of power. Yet its all done in a way that fits the story and never came off as forced. I’ll admit that there are definitely aspects and scenes that probably went over my head in a way where I’m not sure I totally understand every choice. Then again, that means that this could be one that benefits from repeat viewings.
Anderson’s style at this point is so recognizable at this point that one does wonder if it has gotten to the point of self parody yet. Thankfully, that isn’t the case as he manages to make it work once again. I’ve always enjoyed the way he frames scenes with them being usually still and actors often looking at the camera directly as it fits the absurdist tone he’s going for and we’re able to get a good grasp of what our characters are feeling. Some may see it as pretentious filmmaking, but I just find something inherently enjoyable in this filmmaking. Plus I can never say no to some outstanding production design with locations having an immense amount of detail and charm to them as we travel to different location all over Phoenicia from the desert to the jungle to huge palaces and vehicles. Same goes for the various costumes and make up that do a wonderful job of fitting the character’s personalities. Capturing it all perfectly is Brian Delbonnel’s vibrant cinematography that is a treat for the eyes that fits the vintage feel Anderson is going for perfectly. There’s a neat old timey feel to all of this that makes it feel like something that would’ve been made back then and it makes the love of classic cinema all the more apparent. We also get a great score courtesy of Alexandre Desplat that is able to fit in with the eccentricities of the feature just like any good composition.
Given that he was one of the stand outs of Anderson’s The French Dispatch, I was more than happy when I found out that not only would Benicio del Toro be a part of another project with, but that he would be the lead. I always find him to be an engrossing screen presence, so getting to see him show more of his acting capabilities is a huge plus for me and I’m happy to say that he more than delivers here! He usually ends up playing silent types in films, so to see him in an active role with a lot of dialogue was very refreshing and he nails the deadpan delivery of the comedy as well as being able to covey the different nuances of what is a very complicated character. Korda is a deeply flawed individual who doesn’t really know how to communicate in ways that aren’t pro typical of a highly wealthy businessman and doesn’t have much of a regard for the feelings of others. However, Del Toro is able to show the character’s deep sense of loss and regret that has made him question his value as a person as well as whether he has done any good in his life. We see how this is reflected in this journey and why the scenes in the Afterlife are so relevant to his growth as we see him go on something of a redemption arc. His relationship with Sister Liesal ties into this perfectly and is excellently explored with Mia Threapleton providing a knock out performance, as a character who tries to maintain her morality on what she thinks is a horrendous business venture but she goes just to make sure her father doesn’t screw anything up. They have an interesting dynamic that is filled with resentment from Liesal, but I like how she genuinely tries to understand her father and there is the sense that deep down they do both care for each other which makes certain parts near the end resonate.
Michael Cera also puts in one of his best performances in my opinion as Bjorn, a kind hearted and energetic bug lover who doesn’t quite know what to make of this situation. He works very well as a light hearted side character that ends up playing a much bigger part in the plot as the film progresses and Cera gets to show off some impressive range here, peeling behind some layers that the character has. As per usual with an Anderson picture, the supporting cast is filled with a myriad of familiar faces all of who manage to stand out playing some colorful characters. The stand outs for me included Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston as two grouchy railway owners who are involved in one of the funniest parts of the film that involves a game of basketball, and Richard Ayoade as a revolutionary guerrilla named Sergio who has interesting methods of conducting raids. I also really enjoyed Mathieu Amalric as a nightclub owner named Marseille Bob who also gets some very amusing moments. Admittely I would’ve liked to have seen more from the likes of Riz Ahmed, Scarlett Johansson, and Jefferey Wright as they did end up with a bit of the short shift compared to the others, but they’re characters are still able to make an impression and there are plenty of other faces who I won’t give away). Oh and Benedict Cumberbatch shows up Korda’s estranged half brother, Uncle Nubar who is deliciously devilish and has one hell of a character design that looks straight out of something from a Dr. Suess book.
On the whole, I found The Phoenician Scheme to be yet another delightful venture from Wes Anderson that never ceased to amuse me. I may not have understood every part and I would’ve liked more from some characters, but that doesn’t make this film any less entertaining thanks to hilarious comedy that made me laugh consistently, a successful melding of different themes, an investing story, Anderson’s usual style, amazing craftsmanship, compelling character work, and an amazing cast up its arsenal. If one is not a fan of Anderson’s sensibilities then this won’t be the one to win you over, but for those who love the filmmaker’s work, this is bound to do the trick for you. It stands as my favorite live action comedy that I’ve seen this year thus far and is just another reminder of why I love this director’s specific sense of making movies and I hope he continues to do so as long as he can. I really hope that he’ll one day get the awards recognition for feature filmmaking that he deserves as he really has become one of the most influential filmmakers out there. Now time to check off the many other films of his I haven’t seen!
Rating: A
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