The Phoenician Scheme

You know going into a Wes Anderson film it will look great, and in that aspect The Phoenician Scheme doesn't disappoint. Incredibly designed sets and styles match a wacky tale of a businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro) who is of note for two reasons. First, under attack from a shadowy group (which may or may not be tied to the government?) crippling his business by inflating the cost of materials vital to the job's completion, Korda is attempting to salvage the biggest deal of his career. And second, everyone wants him dead, so much so that unexpected plane crashes due to bombs smuggled onboard his plane are a common occurrence.

Where the film comes up wanting, and where you can usually see a disconnect between average and great Wes Anderson films, is the human element. Korda and his antics entertain in ultra-stylized over-the-top nonsense wrapped around a set of business deals, but there's not heart even with his attempts to mend fences with his estranged daughter (Mia Threapleton).

Returning from her time in the nunnery where he sent her (and, to his surprise, became religious), on the eve of taking her vows, and reuniting with her father, on a trial basis, Liesl accompanies Korda on his various stops around the globe to find money needed to complete his project which includes a dam, railway, and other various items being built in Phoenicia (giving the film its name). While never truly explained, we do get a visual model of Korda's vision late in the film during his last-ditch effort to win the necessary further funding. It's as odd as everything else in the film.

The Phoenician Scheme also includes unusual afterlife sequences and dreams which come usually after Korda's latest near-death experience and center around his self-doubt and regret. In a film focused on making strange choices they aren't egregious but they ultimately don't add much if anything to Korda's internal journey either, making their inclusion a bit perplexing.

The notable members of the supporting cast include Michael Cera as a Norwegian entomologist traveling with Korda and her daughter and Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, and Benedict Cumberbatch all as various business partners. Not all these characters are necessary, in fact most are not, as you can fill Anderson padding out the star count. That said, the various locales do feed into both the expansive style and wacky globetrotting adventure Anderson is going for in the film which ultimately delivers an odd, but enjoyable enough, time at the movies.

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• Title: The Phoenician Scheme
• IMDb: link