Wealthy businessman, Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: 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, Hope Davis, F. Murray Abraham, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray
Release Date: June 6, 2025
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, some sexual material, nude images, and smoking throughout.
Runtime: 1h 45m
Review:
Wes Anderson's latest film, The Phoenician Scheme, finds his esoteric style increasingly refined which is sure to please a long time but it'll do little to bring others into the fold. Anderson meticulous visuals always give his films their distinctive style with that being true again here. He toys with more hallucinatory detours that give this film a more spiritual sensibility centered around themes of legacy and redemption of self. It’s a fascinating subject matter, one that's laced some of his previous films such as The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Hotel Budapest, but his approach is even more overt here. There's a mediative contemplation to it all as we follow Benicio del Toro's Zsa-zsa Korda plan to cement his legacy while attempting to mend his relationship with his estranged daughter played wonderfully by Mia Threapleton. The overly complex plans sometimes hamper the central themes he's exploring which leaves you wishing he'd chosen something a bit less involved to focus on the father/daughter relationship which drives the film. Those moments possess the kind of tender, soulfulness that have made some of his best films stand out. It’s a difficult balancing act that he can't pull off this time around as the film occasionally comes to a screeching halt thanks to an over indulgence on the quirky scenario and cameos which are fun but feel far more superfluous than usual. Those cameos are peppered with a cavalcade of A listers with each making the most of their screentime with Jeffrey Wright's character sorely begging for more time to shine. Benicio del Toro and Mia Threapleton make for a strong onscreen duo as two different sides of the same coin even though she may or may not be his biological daughter. Michael Cera fits right in as the third primary cast member with him easily working himself into Anderson's world, so much so that you're left wondering why they haven't worked together sooner. The Phoenician Scheme may not land in the upper echelon of Wes Anderson's but that doesn't mean that fans won't find plenty to enjoy in this fanciful excursion.
B-
