When it comes to director Wes Anderson, the word “quirky” gets thrown around a lot. Anderson’s eccentric, distinct visual and narrative style has aroused many a frivolous and bad faith debate about a director’s style versus a director’s substance, perhaps because the characters in Anderson’s films have a level of peculiarity and ennui that leads some to think his films are thematically empty.
“The Phoenician Scheme,” the latest Anderson film, continues the director’s streak in showing that these debates are not only pointless but miss the mark entirely. The plot follows ruthless industrialist “Zsa-Zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro) embarking on his biggest enterprise yet while facing assassination attempts, rival tycoons and governments and a reconciliation with his only daughter, nun-in-training Liesl (Mia Threapleton).
Anderson’s movie may feel less than his artistic triumph/defense of his work, “Asteroid City.” But “The Phoenician Scheme” succeeds in examining the interconnected world of money and power, painting another profound portrait of a strained family.
The film begins with Zsa-Zsa surviving what is not his first assassination attempt (a plane crash), before reuniting with the pious Liesl for the first time in six years. Throughout the rest of the runtime, Zsa-Zsa, a craven billionaire who cares little for others, becomes a little less cruel.
Meanwhile, Liesl, wryly played by up-and-comer Mia Threapleton, starts to become a little more like her father. She arms herself with fancy knives and slowly but surely drinks harder and harder liquor throughout the movie. By her side for most of the picture is Bjørn (another wonderfully and unambiguously awkward performance from Michael Cera), a Norwegian entomologist who grows an attraction to the nun.
While Zsa-Zsa remains shrewd, there are glimpses of his brushes with the afterlife and god (Bill Murray). He has moments of regret and longing to be a better person, even as he has caused many deaths and relies on slave labor for his latest scheme. But the film goes farther than just those broad emotional characterizations: Anderson makes the audience question why — and how, exactly — Zsa-Zsa grows his heart a few sizes and lives a simpler life in the end.
“The Phoenician Scheme” largely works, though, through Anderson’s ability to make a harrowing, globe-trotting adventure. With influences like director and screenwriter Michael Mann (“Heat,” “The Last of the Mohicans”), Anderson undoubtedly has a sense of when to move the camera and give viewers visual information that makes a sequence flow. He could probably direct a better straight-up action or horror movie than nearly every director in those respective genres.
And at every turn, there are new and classic Andersonian characters that make the journey all the more delightful. The businessmen brothers who excel at basketball (Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston). The French nightclub owner Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), who cares deeply about his chandeliers. Zsa-Zsa’s half-brother (Benedict Cumberbatch), who has a finely-trimmed beard and a deep hatred. These characters show the brutal interconnected nature of billionaires, kings, government and religion that create a ruling class desperate for more money.
But above all else, “The Phoenician Scheme” paints itself as a struggle between good and evil. While the film views Zsa-Zsa’s deeds as, at the core, vile and corrupt, the results lead to positive outcomes even if there are more negative ones. It may not be the easiest message to get behind, but it’s another distinct one from Anderson that will leave viewers wanting more in the best way possible.
“The Phoenician Scheme” is currently playing at The Little Theatre.
Henry O’Brien is a contributor to CITY.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
