Don Reviews "The Phoenician Scheme"

A lot of directors have been known for having a distinct directing style, whether it be good or bad.  From have J.J. Abrams’ action films and lens flares to Quentin Tarantino and his mix of action and long storytelling and Ari Aster, there are things that just give them away in their work.  There is also Wes Anderson, who has a lot of similarities of his films on multiple levels, and he is back again with The Phoenician Scheme.

He also co-writes the script here and has a combination of his staples and new people to work with in Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Steve Park, Williem Dafoe, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, and Benedict Cumberbatch.  Zsa-Zsa Korda (Del Toro) is a ruthless international businessman, who after an attempt on his life decides to get his affairs in order and wants to make his only daughter Liesl (Threapleton) his sole heir, but there is one small problem: she is in the process of becoming a nun.  At the same time, there is a consortium of businessmen and politicians that are trying to price-fix in order to make Korda’s business deals fall through, and when you put all of this together, the normally expected level of Anderson’s chaos ensues.

As per normal with Wes Anderson, there is an all-star cast here, and the chemistry between the three main characters played by Del Toro, Cera, and Threapleton is very good.  If this film were released later in the year, I could see nominations for Del Toro due to his incredible performance.  At about one hundred minutes with a fairly simple plot, it works and does not drag.  At most there could be maybe five to ten minutes could have been cut, but it was not bad at all.

You may be able to figure it out by this point, but just to say it clearly: this IS a Wes Anderson film, and it fits right in with the others he has done in tone and structure.  It has that very artsy feel that fits right in at an art house or independent movie theater. There is a ton of comedy and a lot of scenes that have those extra tidbits as well; however, If his stuff is not your style, you may not enjoy The Phoenician Scheme, but if you are a fan, you should be good, so I am recommending this film as a twilight showing in the theaters.