By Matthew Moorcroft

Strong Recommendation

• Directed by Wes Anderson
• Starring Benecio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Benedict Cumberbatch
• R

It’s not everyday that Wes Anderson begins his movies with a literal bang, but The Phoenician Scheme certainly does, as Benecio del Toro’s Zsa-Zsa Korda finds himself plummeting to Earth in a burning wreckage of a plane after an assassination attempt. It doesn’t work, obviously, but it does leave Zsa-Zsa completely and utterly broken, and finally wakes up to the idea that he himself, one day, will die with nothing to show for it.

Anderson is no stranger to movies about dysfunctional family dynamics or character struggling with their own personal demons, so on the surface The Phoenician Scheme should feel like it’s retreading old ground. But like all of Anderson’s work, The Phoenician Scheme has much more to chew on outside of that, adding a religious element to his work that hasn’t really been seen before and also switching into full caper, spy movie mode to an added layer of fun and zaniness.

So it goes without saying that The Phoenician Scheme is fantastic; a hysterical, almost achingly delightful little film that manages to strike the perfect balance between dark slapstick and quirky whismy without being overbearing while also looking sublime from a craftsmanship perspective. Anderson’s work has always partly been about the artificiality of cinema and how it can be manipulated for very specific emotions, and The Phoenician Scheme continues this current period trend of doubling down on that artificiality. It’s not as immediate as something like The French Dispatch or Asteroid City, both of which are stories within other stories, but The Phoenician Scheme still plays out like a play or a fable more then a real life story – fictional country of Phoenicia included.

Within those limits of artificiality is where Anderson finds his texture however, and The Phoenician Scheme finds itself grappling with ideas and concerns about faith, redemption, and our ever-present mortality. While a spy caper, or even arguably a heist film, on it’s surface, The Phoenician Scheme is the story of a father desperately trying to solve his strained relationship with his daughter before he dies. Said daughter has found some level of comfort in religion, even if she herself isn’t as devout or as perfect as she claims she is, something that actually informs much of the cast here. The entire cast is hiding something, whether it be Del Toro’s true reasons for leaving his daughter behind, Mia Threapleton’s own vices, Michael Cera’s true nature, or even the supporting players who all have their own reasons for hiding what they do, and those secrets come flushing out like the actual scheme itself, which ultimately boils down to a risky proposition to make a country better on a profit. It’s all bookended by scenes set in a heavenly space, as Zsa-Zsa finds himself on trial for the misdeeds of his past and begins to grapple with his faith, life, and his past actions.

It helps then that The Phoenician Scheme is hilarious throughout, and one of Anderson’s most entertaining on a pure filmmaking level. Every scene is maximized for humorous intent, whether that be the brief moments of action that are straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon or camera movements that are funny in of themselves. Cera’s turn as an administrative assistant/tutor/possibly spy is particularly inspired, and once the ball drops on his character he somehow gets even sillier and yet even more poignant in how he factors into the narrative as both an agent of chaos as well as it’s heart. Redemption is the key factor in his story as well as the rest of the film, as while Anderson’s trademark melancholy is still here, The Phoenician Scheme posits a happier, more heartwarming outlook in it’s final moments that maybe reflect a maturing of Anderson’s own mindset.

And in the days following it’s first viewing, I’m still mostly pondering The Phoenician Scheme and it’s greater ideas. Like all great Anderson films, and hell like all great works of art, it’s sticking with me on a deeper level, it’s characters and it’s story resonating in spite of maybe some smaller quibbles about it being a little overcomplicated. But those small things are mostly negligible, and as of right now the best thing I can say about The Phoenician Scheme is that I am dying to see it again and fully grasp it’s deeper, more intricate ideas. One of my favourites of the year so far and well worth the wait.