The Phoenician Scheme
Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme is an opulent, sprawling fever dream of monstrous capitalists, fractured families and pastel-coloured decadence. It stands as one of the director’s most structurally ambitious films to date, tracing the machinations of Zsa Zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro), a shadowy tycoon masterminding an implausible infrastructure scheme that makes the exploits of Carnegie and Vanderbilt look quaint, alongside his daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), a novice nun unwillingly drawn into his moral vacuum.
The film’s wit and satire are filtered through Anderson’s 1950s storybook aesthetic, which here feels distinctly rose-tinted. Del Toro’s Korda is a marvel – part Elon Musk, part Charles Foster Kane – complete with references to modern slavery, nine absentee sons and recurring hallucinations of religious therapy. His declaration of statelessness aboard a private jet is a sharp jab at the global elite, though it’s somewhat blunted by the auteur’s characteristic detachment from politics. It remains unclear whether we are meant to be appalled by Korda or admire his audacity – and that ambiguity, coupled with a detached moral spectatorship, feels deliberate. The muted colouring and the elegant, ancient-looking castle he resides in perfectly underscore his emperor-like ambitions, casting his sprawling schemes in the faded grandeur of a dying dynasty. Conversely, Threapleton’s Liesl often feels inert, even as she is drawn deeper into the grotesque orbit of her father’s imperial fantasy. While deadpan delivery is a hallmark of Anderson’s style, here it sometimes comes across as rote recitation, with Threapleton relying on it to a fault. This contrast becomes even more apparent when Liesl shares the screen with more vibrant characters – particularly Bjorn (Michael Cera), her father’s smarmy but awkward Norwegian tutor, and her uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch), who is even shadier than her father – both delivering performances that better capture the director’s trademark flair.
Ultimately, The Phoenician Scheme is another boldly quirky and visually striking film from Anderson. Del Toro commands the screen, while the narrative’s sharp satire of capitalism and dysfunctional families feels especially relevant. Though not without its flaws, the distinctive style and storytelling remain timeless, embracing every eccentricity and contradiction.
Christina Yang
The Phoenician Scheme is released nationwide on 23rd May 2025.
Watch the trailer for The Phoenician Scheme here:
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