With a 75% RT Score, Is Wes Anderson’s 'The Phoenician Scheme' Really Worth Your Time?
For even Wes Anderson’s most ardent fans, the cult-favorite auteur behind such classics as Rushmore (1999), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) can be hit or miss. Many will recall the writer-producer-director’s mid-career wilderness period, where in between 2004 and 2012 he produced several works (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom) which lacked the compelling human element of his earlier works; but, on balance, he did make one quintessential Wes Anderson movie (The Fantastic Mr. Fox) during that time. With Budapest Hotel, however, he seemed to spring back into form.
His new movie, The Phoenician Scheme, a darkly comedic thriller starring Benicio del Toro, is now in cinemas. With a 75 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is Anderson’s latest really worth your time?
Related: Review: Does ‘Until Dawn’ Do Its Playstation Source Proud?
We meet infamous plutocrat Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda (del Toro) as he survives his umpteenth assassination attempt in the form of a plane crash. As news reporters extol the tragedy of Korda’s demise, he saunters into frame and sticks one of his vestigial organs back into place. The film begins as it intends to go on.
Korda summons his daughter, novitiate nun Liesl (Mia Threapleton, daughter of Kate Winslet), to help him execute a plan to dominate a Middle Eastern town by taking over its agricultural market and triggering famine. To make this happen, he’s signed investment agreements with a litany of his relatives, including Cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), and his brother, Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch), who incidentally may have killed Korda’s wife and framed him for the crime. To secure the cash, Korda embarks on a globe-trotting journey with Liesl and Norwegian tutor Björn (Michael Cera), visiting each of his potential investors.
The Phoenician Scheme feels like a grab bag of elements from Anderson’s past work—the estranged child thread of The Life Aquatic; the international chase of The Grand Budapest Hotel, this too culminating in the theft/sale of priceless art; the ne’er-do-well makeshift family caper of Bottle Rocket. Though he often remixes various elements, this most recent film comes off as the least formed and the most Anderson-lite since The Darjeeling Limited (2007).
The plot is completely incomprehensible, and by the mid-way point, all of the running around becomes a bit dull because you're not emotionally invested in the characters or their journeys. There’s entirely too much talk of business mergers and taxes and paperwork, like Anderson was being audited during production, and none of it is ironic or sardonic enough to excuse how plodding it all is. The end result is clearly supposed to pull heartstrings in the same way Budapest Hotel did so beautifully, but because everything is pitched at such a zany height before that point, the finale doesn't land.
Related: Is the Final 'Mission: Impossible' Really Worth Your Time and Money?
Although it’s always a pleasure to be brought into Anderson’s particularly peculiar world, the fizz and sparkle are lacking this time. So, too, is the purpose. It’s a more serious-minded work, even while it’s dealing in slapstick fisticuffs between its leads, and the one-note tone (rather than political thriller, this is something of a “business thriller”) bludgeons any sense of fun. The excitement and novelty of the opening scenes and a later jungle-set passage, which evoke a ‘40s adventure serial and are as close as we’ll come to seeing Anderson direct a Mission: Impossible movie, are tempered by the funereal rhythm of the other sections. Alexandre Desplat’s score, absolutely ace, does what it can to thrum up excitement.
Related: Review: Alex Garland’s Controversial ‘Warfare’ Is Scarily Realistic
Even the most expert members of Anderson's ensemble seem adrift, unaware of their bigger role in the narrative. Johansson can’t even summon a consistent or convincing accent, which is shocking; and Bryan Cranston and Tom Hanks, as brothers, are so robotic and staccato, even by Anderson's standards, that it seems like setup for a joke which never arrives. Del Toro, usually a slam dunk, seems out of place here—far too lugubrious—despite previously excelling in The French Dispatch. One can’t help but imagine how effective Anderson stalwart Jason Schwartzman, or even Bill Murray, would have been as Korda. However, Therapleton is excellent in the lead role. She finds a smart balance between Anderson's specific deliveries and imbuing her character with a distinct personality, the only member of the ensemble to do so.
Anderson’s recent films, particularly the stellar French Dispatch (2021) and Asteroid City (2023), required at least two viewings to unravel their puzzle box construction and appreciate everything packed into each frame. But even after multiple viewings, The Phoenician Scheme remains frustratingly enigmatic. Whereas his other films have revealed unnoticed wonders, The Phoenician Scheme remains as you first found it.
Related: Review: ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Brings the Franchise Back From the Dead
The Phoenician Scheme is now in cinemas.
Related: 19 Years Later, 'Final Reckoning' Retcons an Underrated 'Mission: Impossible' Sequel