Wes Anderson films are always a visual treat and “The Phoenician Scheme” is certainly no exception.
It unfolds like a pop-up book and gives a host of big names a chance to play in a very delightful sandbox. Here, that sandbox moves around frequently and never lights long enough for one of its mega-stars to get a third scene.
The premise is a doozy — Benicio Del Toro plays Anatole Korda, a business tycoon who survives six assassination attempts and decides it might be time to draft a succession plan. With one daughter and nine sons, he makes the estranged daughter (Mia Threapleton) heir to his very bizarre world. He’s the mastermind behind the Phoenician Scheme but, true-to-form, he doesn’t want to put his own money into the project. So, he, the daughter and the sons traipse around the globe trying to drum up capital.
In tow: A Scandinavian tutor (Michael Cera) who knows plenty about bugs but little else about the world.
From left, Mia Threapleton, Benicio Del Toro and Michael Cera share a meal in "The Phoenician Scheme."
One by one, they meet potential investors and, here, is where Anderson’s plot starts to stray. So many of the scenes play out like a curtain call for veterans of his films. They get a goofy scene, then disappear until a summit meeting.
Some are good; others look like they weren’t reined in.
Thankfully, Del Toro, Threapleton and Cera (who’s very, very good) keep the story on track. It twists and turns repeatedly, takes a side trip to heaven and lets production designer Adam Stockhausen out-Anderson his previous designs for the director.
The sets are filled with the kinds of pieces that can only be appreciated in a still photograph. They tell another story and help bring this one to its interesting conclusion.
If you’re not an Anderson fan, you probably won’t join the fold with “Scheme.” It’s very much in keeping with other entries on his resume and requires great eyesight (to read the tiny titles that race across the screen) and a willingness to suspend everything.
In the process, you get an opportunity to see Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, F. Murray Abraham and Benedict Cumberbatch play roles others wouldn’t give them.
Benicio Del Toro and Mia Threapleton star in "The Phoenician Scheme."
“The Phoenician Scheme” isn’t as satisfying as “The Grand Budapest Hotel” or “The Royal Tenenbaums,” but it fills a niche and broadens the world Anderson has created.
Threapleton enhances her career just by being here. She shows she’s able to stand toe-to-toe with Oscar winners and emerge victorious.
Cera, meanwhile, could nab an Oscar nomination for his quirky performance. Just when you think he’s headed down a familiar path, he takes a decided left turn and surprises even more.
“The Phoenician Scheme” gives him a bump that even Anderson couldn’t have expected.
