‘The Phoenician Scheme' Review: Wes Anderson’s Father-Daughter Caper is a Charming and Classy Delight
Failure siblings. Estranged brothers. A boy and his dog. Some of the best Wes Anderson stories explore specific family relationships. The Phoenician Scheme, Anderson's most recent flick, is about a billionaire businessman and his nun daughter on an adventure. Although it doesn't quite measure up to some of his best work — especially after Asteroid City, which is currently my second favorite of his — Phoenician Scheme is a warm, witty, and endearing mid-tier Wes Anderson flick. Mind you, a mid-tier Anderson is still a very damn good Anderson.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of Focus Pictures
MPA Rating: PG13 (violent content, bloody images, some sexual material, nude images, and smoking throughout.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 45 Minutes
Production Companies: Indian Paintbrush, American Empirical Pictures
Distributor: Focus Features
Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: 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
Release Date: May 30, 2025 (Ltd) | June 6, 2025 (Nationwide)
Europe, 1950. Tired of avoiding the numerous assassination attempts against him after surviving his sixth plane crash, Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), a cold-hearted, stubborn billionaire tycoon, is willing to designate an heir to his kingdom. Rather than letting his nine adoptive sons assume responsibility, he designates his eldest child and sole daughter, Leisl (Mia Threapleton), a nun who is more interested in her religious beliefs. Nonetheless, she agrees to a trial period in the hopes of obtaining information on her deceased mother. To put Leisl to the test, Zsa-zsa takes her on a global tour to visit various business allies and negotiate a better price for an infrastructure project he's building before the US government seizes his possessions. Along for the trip is Bjorn (Michael Cera), a Norwegian tutor who is supposed to teach the sons but ends up acting as the traveling secretary. Together, they must face assassins, terrorists, and government spies, a prince, a second cousin, two brothers who share a passion for basketball, and a nightclub owner.
Anderson’s Phoenician Scheme strikes the ideal balance between whimsy and earnestness.
The Phoenician Scheme lies somewhere between The Darjeeling Limited and The French Dispatch: it takes a humorous, highly spirited turn as he returns to the structure of the family road trip. Phoenician Scheme strikes the ideal balance between Anderson's whimsical, comical spirit and a powerful family story. Anderson's dry wit is all over the movie, which has a lot of sight gags, sharp wordplay, and crazy characters.
The film is a series of mini-vignettes, each introduced by shoebox labels of the people Korda must visit, that are still cohesive and congruent to the larger portrait of this father-daughter relationship. It plays like an extended Jay Ward cartoon compilation in the sense that throughout Korda, Liesl, and Bjorn's global tour, they find themselves in wacky situations that escalate to zany degrees.
At one juncture, Korda is forced to play a 2-on-2 game with a prince (Riz Ahmed), who has never played basketball before, against two industrialist brothers (Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston). Another time, he visits the owner of a luxurious nightclub, Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), whose club gets taken hostage by a terrorist organization under the leadership of a man named Sergio (Richard Ayoade). Subsequently, he engages in a confrontation with his enigmatic, bulge-eyed brother, Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch).
Those are just a handful of the 'titans' involved in the titular scheme, and each sequence has its own set of solid recurring gags and a constant comic tone. Although it is far from the height of Anderson's comedic abilities, it is frequently chuckle-worthy. Anderson’s worldbuilding is wacky and cartoonish, mining Korda’s high-class circle for outlandish personas and greetings even more than usual. A hilarious recurring gag, for example, involves Korda greeting everyone with a hand grenade like a love language. It's a refreshing change of pace from the "ha, aren't rich people all the same brand of evil?" class commentary that has been getting stale.
Benicio Del Toro Finds the Heart and Humanity to Larger-Than-Life Billionaire Protagonist
Anderson and frequent collaborator Roman Coppola, who share a co-story credit, face a tricky challenge in crafting the character of Korda. In a time when corrupt billionaires are destroying our reality, they create a hard-boiled, larger-than-life patriarch who repeatedly defies death, yet remains grounded enough to feel fully human. Korda is a hybrid of Scrooge McDuck and Willy Wonka: obsessed with his wealth, yet layered and complex. Although the man is preoccupied with finances, Anderson’s portrayal subtly and skillfully delves into Korda’s mortality. With each brush with death, we see the black and white heavenly gate that awaits Korda, and the various religious representatives who might be the harbinger of second chances. Del Toro's performance is fine, somber, and entirely appropriate for this archetype. He commands the screen and provides grand, dry humor. The same goes for Threapleton, who is a strong contrast to Del Toro's seasoned talent. They are an ideal father-daughter pair, and their chemistry bolsters the emotions that emanate from their mature relationship, both emotionally and spiritually.
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Wes Anderson, Michael Cera
Naturally, Anderson's new regulars — including players he's been eager to use since French Dispatch — play their parts flawlessly in his ensemble. Jason Schwartzman, Ed Norton, and Owen Wilson are out of the rotation this time, but this particular cast fills Anderson's mid-century world beautifully with well-accepted newcomers who convincingly steal the show. You've probably heard by now how exceptional Michael Cera is as the Norwegian tutor Bjorn. With a thick accent work reminiscent of the "Yoo hoo! Big summer blowout" guy from Frozen, Cera actively steals the show in every scene. With his dry vocal inflection, mousy body language, and accent, Cera's Bjorn is likely one of the most memorable Anderson characters ever created. Honestly, Michael Cera is so terrific he creates a Mandela effect. I kept thinking the two had already collaborated, but in reality, they have only been longtime friends. Well, real friends would've taken advantage of casting Michael Cera. We could’ve had a Cera and Schwartzman reunion in a non-Scott Pilgrim-space.
Final Statement
While it is mid-tier, with little to make it stand out from Wes Anderson’s most ambitious affairs, The Phoenician Scheme is an otherwise enjoyable, and funny romp full of charm and class (pun intended).
