Whatever you think of Wes Anderson as a filmmaker, you cannot deny that he is meticulous in his creations. His mathematical approach to using the camera, with the centre being the focal point, is evident in his use of the written word on the screen and the use of narration. If you saw just a few seconds of an Anderson film, you’d know he’s the director. Where he does fail to connect with the audience is the level of his plots. Having made 13 films, their quality varies from film to film. The Grand Budapest Hotel is definitely his high point. Where does his latest, The Phoenican Scheme, fall? It ticks the boxes for its quirkiness but fails on other points.

Zsa-Zsa Korda is a wealthy businessman known for his cheating and scheming of his fellow business partners. With a gap in his latest idea, he travels around the world, trying to make deals with partners, old and new, taking with him his daughter, a nun to whom he is leaving his entire enterprise, and a tutor. Their journey to raise the money is fraught with danger as assassins want him dead.

Anderson loves being a little wild and wacky with his creations, and this film is no exception. It begins with a massive jolt as we see Zsa-Zsa travelling in his private plane, only for an explosion to bring the aircraft down, which includes an unexpected moment of violence not seen in his film before. This lets us understand that Korda is a man who is in constant danger. We then become entangled in a complex tale of business dealings and family dysfunction, a favourite of Anderson’s.

The details of Korda’s life are laid out, a ruthless man with accusations of murder over his head, as well as a family he has all but disowned, apart from his daughter, a trainee nun ready to take her final exams but told to dismiss them to take control of his fortunes. There are the usual Anderson traits: a rug with shoe boxes containing his ideas, all labelled; unexpected flashes of humour and his use of the placement of his actors and props to heighten the visual gags.

The issue with this film is that it’s not as funny as Anderson intended it to be. There are long scenes where we are presented with numerous business dealings, and the details seem to fly over your head. Anderson’s sparky dialogue is often delivered at a breakneck pace and in a monotone manner, so there are moments where you do get slightly lost. What did we expect when a film is called The Phoenician Scheme? This isn’t going to be a low-brow comedy. And there is the problem. It’s far too high-brow that audiences could easily be lost, just longing for some simple ideas and less complicated moments.

This time, he intersperses moments of A Matter of Life and Death style heaven scenes, in which Zsa-Zsa faces a court of judges to decide whether he lives. Filmed in black and white, it doesn’t quite make sense and slows down the initial ideas of the plot, as if it were an afterthought to include some of his regular actors.

Where Anderson does score highly is the cast, comprising various regulars (Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Scarlett Johansson). In the lead as Zsa-Zsa, Benicio Del Toro is on fine form, and it’s great to see him having fun in such a prominent role. Michael Cena is also hilarious as Bjorn, the tutor with a passion for insects, who is caught up in Korda’s adventures. The real star is Mia Threapleton as Liesl, the nun who is given the inheritance. With her deadpan delivery and wide-eyed, yet strong presence, she shines and takes the focus from the seasoned veterans to Anderson’s world.

The Phoenician Scheme isn’t Anderson’s best, but don’t get me wrong – it’s still a worthwhile watch, especially for those who love the director’s quirky world-building. It just feels a little too clever for its own good, at the expense of the humour that we have come to love in Anderson’s films.

3 out of 5

Director: Wes Anderson

Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cena, Tom Hanks, Brian Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Brian Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Ayoade, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Charlotte Gainsbourgh, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, F. Murray Abrahams, Rupert Friend, Jason Watkins

Written by: (also story) Wes Anderson and (story) Roman Coppola

Running Time: 101 mins

Cert: 15

Release date: 23rd May 2025