Is there a better situation in cinema than a great deadpan actor struggling to maintain composure as they bounce off the most ridiculous situations—and most outlandish of antagonists—to get what they want? How about one deadpan actor and one deadpan actress, both marvelous?
Wes Anderson’s latest in an impressive run of idiosyncratic, stylish movies is like a feature-length Looney Tunes cartoon writ large and writ live-action. Set in the 1950s, The Phoenician Scheme stars Benicio del Toro as the aforementioned straightman Zsa-zsa Korda, a very wealthy tycoon. He has many sons, mostly adopted (in case one turns out to be a genius), and one daughter, Leisl (Mia Threapleton in an equally stony and breakout performance). Leisl has been a nun since a small child, and Korda wants to leave her his fortune when he dies. This won’t happen for some time, as Korda has survived many plane crashes and assassination attempts, several by people who used to work for him.
The scheme at the heart of the movie hardly matters, and intentionally isn’t explained very well, but it involves Korda remaking and industrializing the fictional Middle Eastern country of Phoenicia, and securing percentages of funding from several increasingly bizarre people along the way, some family, some not. These potential business partners include angry brothers Leland and Regan (Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston), a young prince (Riz Ahmed), an outlandish American boat captain (Jeffrey Wright), Korda’s no-nonsense cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), and nightclub czar Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric). Korda keeps messing with the contracts, to the perpetual annoyance of each person he meets, and each deal ends in a loud shouting match, as the stoic Korda loses his cool when he doesn’t get exactly what he wants.
The MacGuffin is hardly the point here, though, as Korda is joined by Leisl (who’s after some answers regarding her mother’s mysterious death) and the third member of this motley crew, Bjorn (Michael Cera), a bumbling Scandinavian tutor with an obsession for insects (and secrets) and a romantic interest in Leisl. How these three play off each other is the true heart of the film, and much visual humor, running gags, and rapid-fire wordplay follow. Bjorn carries a wooden crate of colorful hand grenades to give away to each potential investor, because they’re cheaper than bullets (“Care for a hand grenade?” Korda says at the start of every business deal). Another gag is the number of times that Korda and his compatriots survive plane crashes and assassination attempts. “I myself feel very safe,” Korda frequently mutters in quite unsafe situations. This sort of thing would not be out of place in a Chuck Jones production.
There are a few surprising twists and turns in the story as Korda alternately secures and fails to secure funding, barely escaping death many times (and learning a lesson each time in heavenly dream sequences featuring Bill Murray as God). Finally, Korda lands at the doorstep of Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch with a ridiculous beard), who’s the world’s least biggest fan of Korda. Things don’t go as planned.
Wes Anderson is known for his lavish production design, bizarre plots, dysfunctional families, and heartfelt stories, as seen in the coming-of-age Moonrise Kingdom, the tragic and funny The Royal Tenenbaums, and the dramatic murder-mystery The Grand Budapest Hotel. The Phoenician Scheme is a welcome addition to this pantheon. Anderson has skillfully avoided becoming a parody of himself, reinventing his work each time while still having his own unmistakable stamp on every production. Don’t try to make sense of the scheme or the contracts or percentages while watching this manic caper—just let the bizarre situations, clever dialogue, and laugh-out-loud moments wash over you. The Phoenician Scheme is the antidote to a rote Hollywood blockbuster summer, and there will never be another mind like its creator’s.
