The Phoenician Scheme – Film Review
Reviewed by Harris Dang on the 30th of May 2025
Universal Pictures presents by Wes Anderson
Screenplay by Wes Anderson
Produced by Wes Anderson, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, and John Peet
Starring: Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, and Hope Davis
Cinematography Bruno Delbonnel
Edited by Barney Pilling
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Rating: M
Running Time: 101 minutes
Release Date: the 30th of May 2025
The Phoenician Scheme tells the story of Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), a wealthy industrialist, businessman, and arms dealer who is barely surviving after undergoing a series of failed assassinations by mysterious perpetrators. His reputation of breaking huge business deals precedes him, which puts a target on his head as he tries to reign over the region of Phoenicia. Knowing his time is nearly up and his opponents are crippling his biggest business venture through price fixing, Korda seeks his only daughter, Liesel (Mia Threapleton), a novitiate whose relationship with Korda is estranged.
With supervision by Bjorn (Michael Cera), a Norwegian entomologist and executive assistant/tutor of Korda’s, Korda offers his daughter a proposal to take over the family estate on a trial basis while he gets his things together. But for that to happen, he needs to undertake a globetrotting journey to reconcile his grand network of business investors to make up the missing money and keep Phoenicia afloat.
As with all of Wes Anderson’s films, filmgoers can expect a huge ensemble cast, the judicious use of miniatures, symmetrical framing, eccentric humour, stop-motion animation, and low-fi art direction. And with his latest film, it definitely delivers on all fronts. The visual imagination Anderson puts on display is exhilaratingly cine-literate and yet still compellingly singular in accordance with Anderson’s voice. And yet it is that voice that makes his later filmography basically review-proof. It is too esoteric to appeal to newcomers and yet too fixed of a formula to be worth changing. As the timeless expression goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
If Asteroid City (2023) can be seen as an allegory on the beauty of storytelling that transcends understanding, then The Phoenician Scheme can be seen as an allegory on the desperation of storytelling that transcends ambition. While it may lack the pathos of his better works, it makes up for it with wackiness that hearkens back to the humour and energy of Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). It certainly is his most action-packed film, and the sudden bouts of off-kilter violence provide plenty of laughs. For example, a fight scene between Benicio del Toro and Benedict Cumberbatch is as magnificently kooky as you would expect. It is complete with improvised weapons, odd camera angles and comedy hijinks that would make the laws of physics blush.
Speaking of blushing, the first act of the film is dense with exposition and details so that it can be overwhelming when Anderson and fellow screenwriter Roman Coppola establish the characters and stakes. Thankfully, there is an emotional throughline involving family and legacy that has a solid foundation thanks to the pairing of del Toro and Threapleton. The two share an amusingly sharp interplay that tiptoes the fine line between resentment and disrespect that gradually expands into a quiet admiration and affability that proves to be emotionally rewarding.
Speaking of affability, the ensemble cast prove to be winning in their colourful characters. Among the Anderson staples (most of which are cameos a-go-go), del Toro is wonderful as Korda, as he displays sharp comedic timing and a deadpan hangdog expression that proves to be both a formidable comedic asset and a story on its own that conveys the history of the character more than the film ever could on the page.
But it is the newcomers in the Wes Anderson collective that truly stand out. Threapleton provides a stellar performance with an icy façade that proves to be funny, compelling, and even endearing. Cera is such a revelation in the role of Bjorn, it is a crime against cinema that it took so long for us to witness a collaboration between him and Anderson. With an uproariously funny accent that would not sound out of place in a Muppets Show and a physicality that proves sprightly and mechanical at the same time, Cera fits the world that Anderson has assembled like a glove.
Overall, The Phoenician Scheme is a riot of a film that is sure to delight the fandom of Wes Anderson with its exhilarating pacing, winning cast, off-kilter sense of humour, and its adventurous spirit. Highly recommended.
Summary: A riot of a film that is sure to delight the fandom of Wes Anderson with its exhilarating pacing, winning cast, off-kilter sense of humour, and its adventurous spirit. Highly recommended.
4.5
Excellent
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