The Phoenician Scheme, directed by Wes Anderson, is in cinemas now.
Wes Anderson’s latest flight of fancy is touchingly personal in origin, while still typically charming in style.
Set in the fictitious Middle Eastern country of Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia, it’s a caper about an estranged parent and child who come together to save the family business. Anderson based the male lead on his late father-in-law, a “larger-than-life” Lebanese construction engineer with a knack for getting things done. One can only hope the tribute doesn’t extend to the fictional protagonist’s lack of ethics.
Benicio Del Toro plays patriarch Zsa Zsa Korda, whose shady business dealings and ability to survive numerous assassination attempts make him a few enemies. Certain that his days must (surely!) be numbered, Korda tries to convince his only daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), a novice nun, to give up her impending vows to take over his business. Conscripting her “on a trial period”, father and daughter travel by private plane to sell his investors on his scheme.
With cutely old-fashioned production design modelled on Arabic and North African cultures, the colourfully ornate sets and visual elements are, as ever, stunning. One overhead shot of a bathroom invites you to ogle the gorgeous tilework. And as usual, Anderson’s screenplay hurtles through its story, meaning a second viewing may be in order to luxuriate in the delightful detail.
Another Anderson motif is to cast a long list of famous faces, even for just a couple of lines. Here he relies on the goodwill of regulars including Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson and Jeffrey Wright.
Del Toro is marvellous as Korda, a hands-off father of nine adopted and actual sons and Threapleton’s pouty, no-nonsense nun. Threapleton is outstanding in this breakout role – the daughter of Kate Winslet shows enormous self-confidence and deadpan comic talent alongside Michael Cera’s superlative turn as a dithery Norwegian entomologist and Korda family tutor who falls for Liesl.
The score is pleasingly different from Alexandre Desplat’s usual whimsy: Anderson’s go-to composer employs bits of heavy-duty Stravinsky and some original dramatic strings, which counteract what is otherwise a pretty lightweight tale.
Despite all these highlights and the script’s subtle nods to serious themes of spy agency involvement abroad and weapons manufacturing, Anderson’s latest tastes more like a frothy decaf coffee than a strong Turkish brew. But even if you see it just once, The Phoenician Scheme serves up plenty to delight and amuse.
Rating out of five: ★★★½
