It does feel like at a certain point a magic trick should wear off. A rabbit being pulled out of a hat is impressive the first time, but the twelfth time since 1993? It can’t possibly maintain the luster. And yet? Wes Anderson’s dedication to perfect frames, and quirky line deliveries continues to justify itself time and time again and again and again and again, this time in The Phoenician Scheme.

In his latest work, famed industrialist Sza Sza Korda (Benicio del Toro) after a series of near assassinations decides to leave the entirety of his fortune to his daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), a girl on her journey to becoming a nun. As the estranged daughter and father spend time together a mysterious board of nefarious government officials and presumably business rivals hatch a plot to rob Sza Sza of his immense wealth. Sza Sza and Liesl, as well as their newly hired tutor Bjorn (Michael Cera), must work fast, convincing their associates to cover the costs of the boards deeds in order to secure their fortune and future wealth.

The Phoenician Scheme has all the trappings of a Wes Anderson that you’d expect. It does watch with a little more plot that his latest entries. Asteroid City for example had considerably less narrative thrust throughout, and chapters that made up The French Dispatch, even less so. The plotty nature of Scheme makes it feel fresh and sets it apart from a lot of Wes’ other works. It at points feels like a quest in an MMORPG, talk to these people, complete the tasks they give to you, and you will win the game. A little simplistic in structure, but still a very entertaining adventure to be had.

As Sza Sza, Liesl, and Bjorn traverse their business dealing around the fictional country of Phoenicia their quest givers are portrayed by a combination of a stable of long time Anderson collaborators, as well as a handful of new faces. Riz Ahmed makes his first appearance in a Wes picture, playing the son of a wealthy king. He joins Sza Sza in a game of pick up basketball against two American tycoons portrayed by Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston. It’s the best sequence of the film as we switch between the hijinks of the ballgame, and a conversation between Bjorn and Liesl as they talk about faith, belief, and love. Real classic Wes stuff.

Later we are introduced to nightclub owner Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), Western entrepreneur and apparent boat captain Marty (Jefferey Wright), Sza Sza’s cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), a Communist revolutionary Sergio (Richard Ayoade), and finally Sza Sza’s half brother Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch). As that list would hint at, the film runs the usual gamut on movie stars stepping in to deliver their best Wes Anderson performance, a unique skill in of itself. Some of the newcomers are the most successful, Jefferey Wright has long been a favorite of mine in the realm of Wes’ guys, but I think the real scene stealer in this picture is Michael Cera, delivering what is possibly a career best performance.

The Phoenician Scheme is not the highest heights Anderson has ever reached, nor is it such a step back as to be alarmed. The biggest issue is it feels like the film wants to be two things. It wants to have a rigidly structured plot, with clear goals, and a targeted finish line, as well as occasionally dive into the heady concepts that he’s tackled better on past projects. Life, religion, love, wealth, politics, have all been examined under a more focused microscope by a team not too dissimilar to the one we see here. The Phoenician Scheme ends up feeling a little muddled as it tries to have it both ways.

But still, in terms of craft, look, and that particular unique brand of dry and whimsy that only one man has ever really captured, it’s worth the price of admission. There was a viral challenge going on not too long ago where Instagram influencers were attempting to rib the filmmaker by copying his style. “Cleaning my house Wes Anderson style” would be the disclaimer to a video, as people would stand center of frame, staring directly at the camera. But here’s the rub, none of those videos, not one, ever came close to the level of detail that Mr. Anderson has successfully distilled in all twelve of his feature length films.

3.5/5