The enduring idol of quirky, nerdy comedy films with an art-house flair is, for most people, Wes Anderson, who has both written and directed 11 feature length films. He has completed his 12th film called "The Phoenician Scheme" now playing in theaters everywhere.
Lead actor Benicio del Toro ("Reptile", 2023) plays a wealthy, infamous, and polarizing businessman Zsa-zsa Korda who survives his sixth plane crash at the start of this film. This miraculous survival inspires this business tycoon to reconnect with his adult daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton,"The Buccaneers," 2023) and bequeath his enormous estate and fortune to her. Part of this fortune are the plans for various construction projects in the fictional Persian country of Phoenicia. But to complete these lofty construction projects, Zsa-zsa and Liesl have to travel to each construction site together and complete necessary financial agreements.
"The Phoenician Scheme" is the closest to an action-adventure film Wes Anderson has ever made with grenades, assassins, and a climactic fist fight. It's one third exotic espionage, one third industrial contract negotiations, and one third a quiet family alliance. The narrative has the expected chapter structure like most other Wes Anderson films as the two main characters visit the construction sites for a railroad tunnel, a waterway, and a damn but are thrown into swift gambles for more money from various eccentric investors.
The distinct humor and awkward vibe are evident, not surprisingly, but I couldn't help thinking I had seen other Wes Anderson films like this already. The main character is a stern, emotionally aloof father who gradually warms to his child, like in "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001) and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004) (both co-written and directed by Wes Anderson). The adventurous traveling to faraway places is similar to the films "The Darjeeling Limited" (2007) and "Moonrise Kingdom" (2012) (both co-written and directed Wes Anderson).
And like his two most recent films, "The French Dispatch" (2021) and "Asteroid City" (2023), "The Phoenician Scheme" continues Wes Anderson's musings on the inevitability of death and what constitutes a valuable life (making this new release a surprisingly spiritual and biblically inspired picture). God and a group of angels/saints make some appearances in a cloudy afterlife setting.
Because of all these reminders I kept having about Wes Anderson's work, I'm sad to say his latest feels 50% endearing and 50% tiresome. When you create such a singular feeling or look in your films, when does it start to confine your creativity?
His father Melver Leonard Anderson worked in advertising and public relations during Wes' childhood which could easily have been an influence on his style of filmmaking. So many shots in "The Phoenician Scheme" look like the nostalgia of an illustrated postcard from the 1950s full of color, pattern, and detail. That helps this film remain satisfactory and entertaining. And I can't complain about Wes Anderson's singular brand. It's great. But you know what's even better? Pushing beyond your expected brand and taking risks to try something different than before.
