I (mostly) love Wes Anderson. I discovered him when I worked at Blockbuster as a kid, and I got hooked and eagerly looked forward to each new movie that he made. My friends and I watched them incessantly and even shot our own versions of some of the scenes. Time moved forward, and even for years after that, each new thing he put out seemed to tell a better, if quirkier, story than the last. But then something changed. I can’t put my finger on it, but they stopped being so magical and became almost what he thought fans expected of him. Except it wasn’t. The Phoenician Scheme embodies this concept more than anything else he has ever done and feels like a parody it wasn’t meant to be.
To say that Anatole Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benecio del Toro) is disliked is an understatement. An arms dealer and industrialist who has had continual attempts made on his life, in order to leave his legacy behind, he summons his estranged daughter Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton) and attempts to persuade her to take over his business. To test this new relationship, she reluctantly agrees to come with him to help finish his newest project where they will face more assassins, betrothals, gangsters, and a few trips into the afterlife.
If this sounds silly, it is, but it’s also how most Wes Anderson movies play out. Although rarely does he dabble as much in the absurd than he does here, and that ends up being the biggest problem. There are wonderful, laugh out loud moments as many parts of the script are hilarious, and the deadpan delivery by the actors lands the jokes perfectly. The running gag about bringing people hand grenades never got old. But then it just gets to be too much. Oftentimes, there is so much happening with rapid fire dialogue and random plot points rearing their heads that it can make it hard to follow, and interest wanes. I like a complex plot, but this just twists and turns into farce which quickly wears out its welcome.
And that is what is quite frustrating as everything that makes up this movie is fantastic. Del Toro, Threapleton, and Michael Cera (to name a few) all work well and play off each other wonderfully. It is extremely well directed, and the way some of the scenes are shot is stunning. But with so much noise and static around what is taking place, it ends up being less than the sum of its parts.
And I blame this fully on the persona that Wes Anderson is trying to live up to these days. He knows what people expect from his films, and now he’s trying to make “Wes Anderson movies,” instead of focusing on what he does best – just making good movies. And he has shown us that he doesn’t need to do this to be successful His short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar which deservedly won an Oscar is magnificent and with him at the top of his game. And it had all the telltale features and quirks he normally includes, but there was a restraint there that hasn’t recently been present. Maybe, just like Judd Apatow and to an even greater extent, Zack Snyder, he just needs someone there to reel him in and tell him no.
While not a downright horrible film, The Phoenician Scheme sinks sharply to the bottom of the list of his filmography. Needlessly convoluted and full of itself, it doesn’t feel as authentic or important as it wants the audience to find it. Again, there is a lot it does well here, and when it gets things just right, the movie absolutely sings, but most of the time, its song is off key. Maybe there is something to be gleaned from repeat viewings, but that would require watching it again, and unlike his earlier work, that is something I have no desire to do.