Benicio del Toro, left, and Mia Threapleton in Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme.” Credit: TPS Productions/Focus Features via TNS
After miraculously surviving six plane crashes, Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) has done what no “Final Destination” character could do in six movies — cheat death.
Wes Anderson’s latest film, “The Phoenician Scheme,” released in theaters Friday. The film follows Korda — a wealthy, corrupt businessman — as he evades multiple assassination attempts, reconciles with his estranged daughter who just so happens to be a nun, toys with business contracts and grapples with his mortality and conscience.
With an abrupt opening scene of Korda’s latest — and deadliest — crash, he gets a brief glance of the afterlife, where he finds himself on trial after living a life of deviance. Startled by the realities of death, Korda scrambles to reconnect with his eldest and only daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) and make her sole heiress of his fortune, convincing her to abandon her role in the church and assist him with his latest business endeavor, “The Phoenician Scheme.”
The film is instantly recognizable as an Anderson film. It checks all of the boxes: muted hues, intricate, meticulous set design and near-perfect symmetry. It’s a fast-paced film packed full of celebrity cameos — Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston as brothers and basketball-loving businessmen, Scarlett Johansson as Korda’s second cousin Hilda and Benedict Cumberbatch as the villainous Uncle Nubar — but the redeeming characters of this film are new additions to Anderson’s cast.
Sister Liesl and Bjørn Lund (Michael Cera), a Norwegian entomologist who Korda hires as a tutor for his nine sons (most of whom he adopted, in hopes of finding the next “Einstein”) are stand-out characters. Liesl delivers deadpan and flat dialogue, as is typical in Anderson films, but even with the monotony it’s easy to see her character development as she embarks on their journey across 1950 Phoenicia with her father.
Cera as Bjørn, undoubtedly the funniest character, is a natural to Anderson’s style of filmmaking. He’s soft-spoken and awkward, with an accent that at first was difficult to discern — yet he remains so charming and amusing. Each slight, off-handed comment of his was met with laughter from the audience. He worked the character like a charm, switching effortlessly between awkwardness and later, strong self-assuredness that contrasts Cera’s typical roles.
It’s worth mentioning that Toro’s performance as Korda was quite impressive, flawlessly depicting a stern and self-absorbed businessman and, on the contrary, a sensible father who is trying to learn from his mistakes. His memorable phrase, “Myself, I feel very safe,” is delivered emotionlessly after each comical assassination attempt, comforting absolutely no one except for himself.
The film was fast-paced, comedic and at times, heart-warming. Korda and Liesl’s budding relationship proves to drive character development in both of them. Moral opposites in the beginning, the two slowly begin to adopt traits of the other — Liesl slowly loosens up her strict morals, experimenting with alcohol and developing a close and awkwardly romantic relationship with Bjørn, Korda essentially developing empathy and realizing the error of his ways (especially in regards to his usage of slave labor).
The downfall comes in the underdeveloped, deeper meaning of the story. Anderson seems to explore three major themes — family, mortality and corruption. The theme of family is well-established through his relationship with Liesl that seems to soften up his typical stoic, toxically masculine nature, and transcends any plot line that threatens their familial connection. Mortality is equally as established through the intermittent black-and-white, surreal depictions of heaven and Korda’s judgment day, which features cameos from Willem Dafoe and Bill Murray, who also frequently appear in Anderson’s films.
The messages tied to Korda’s corrupt business practices and exorbitant wealth are where the lines seem to get blurry. The scheme revolves around trying to fill “the gap,” a deficit of money that Korda seeks to fix with his new infrastructure project — consisting of tunnels, trains and dams — by negotiating with different business partners throughout the film. Korda speeds through the explanation and leaves little context as to what his end goal is. This forces viewers to fill in the gaps — no pun intended — as the movie unfolds.
His character’s resolution is admirable. However, after presenting his project idea to the businessmen and the ridiculously funny and chaotic scene with Uncle Nubar, Korda’s past slips into the background as he seemingly faces no further consequences for his actions. Instead, he leads a calmer, more normal life with his daughter. As enjoyable and heartfelt as it is, the ending is simply not feasible given the reputation of his character. His crimes are acknowledged in his visions of the afterlife, but are not reckoned with in reality, leaving a hollow resolution to an otherwise redemptive character arc.
The true fun in the movie is watching the characters interact. From Bjørn’s character switch-up, to Uncle Nubar’s absurd actions and even more absurd appearance, the film is redeemable through the quirky and eccentric nature of the characters involved.
While it’s far from Anderson’s best work, “The Phoenician Scheme” is an enjoyable watch, and manages to tell the redemption story of a deeply troubled father and his daughter in an unconventional manner.
Rating: 3.5/5
