El esquema fenicio

If you love mid-century fashion and decor and Benecio Del Toro, they'll carry you at least a quarter way through the schemes of 1950's shady industrialist Zsa Zsa Korda (Del Toro) as he plans a byzantine scheme of stock battles to build a railway through old Lebanon. Then the typically precious, overelaborate Wes Anderson dialogue, animatronic cardboard characters in place of actual feeling ones and general sense of being caught in the slow turning pages of a hipster control-freak children's story book will gradually diminish your interest in the film. It's nice someone still employs Michael Cera, but even my grandparents would start checking their watches at The Phoenician Scheme.

Many world-renowned auteurs with distinct styles take years between projects-filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Kathryn Bigelow, or Steve McQueen. Wes Anderson is inarguably in league with them. Yet lately, he seems to be hurting his own legacy by producing too much, too quickly. In the past five years alone, he's released four feature films and four short films-including The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023), which finally earned him his first Oscar. The latest in this near-annual output is The Phoenician Scheme (2025).

The Phoenician Scheme tells the story of wealthy and maligned industrialist Zsa Zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro), who, after surviving one too many assassination attempts by rivals, names his forgotten novitiate daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) as his sole heir-over his eight sons. Together with Liesl and his insect-obsessed secretary Bjorn (Michael Cera), he sets off to secure his magnum opus: a network of infrastructure projects in Phoenicia.

Since Isle of Dogs (2018), Anderson's films have increasingly felt like cast reunions performing stylized imitations of his earlier work, rather than urgent artistic ventures. Both The French Dispatch (2021) and Asteroid City (2023) wandered through quirk without narrative drive-pleasant but aimless. His Roald Dahl short films, by contrast, felt stronger, largely because they stuck closer to plot, message, and character. In The Phoenician Scheme, Anderson attempts a return to plot, giving his aesthetic more structure and a clearer objective.

Yet the story at the film's core feels creaky. It plays like a director trying to reawaken his own narrative instincts, so strong in weaving together tones and threads in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) or The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). The Phoenician Scheme in contrast lacks emotional depth. It rarely moves beyond clever quips and fails to fully explore the father-daughter relationship central to the film. The political commentary, meanwhile, is blunt and didactic, sacrificing subtlety and impact in favor of heavy-handed messaging.

Anderson has always toyed with caricature and cliché-it's part of his charm. But here, the self-awareness seems to have dulled. There are still magically hilarious moments where everything clicks-like a high-stakes basketball game featuring Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston-but many other scenes come across as oblivious to their own hollow aphorisms and tropes.

The cast, as ever, is impressive-and thankfully more curtailed than in recent ensemble-heavy efforts. This tighter scope allows for some character development. Newcomers Threapleton and Cera adapt well to Anderson's rapid-fire, deadpan style. Del Toro, however-despite being one of the most talented and underrated actors of the past few decades-feels miscast. His gritty, grounded style clashes with Anderson's hyper-stylized cadence. Del Toro seems out of sync, his performance feeling stiff and unnatural. Zsa Zsa doesn't come across as a genuine industrialist, but rather as someone pretending to be one.

That said, Anderson's signature aesthetic remains intact. The film is visually immaculate, his humor still lands in places, and the editing maintains that conspiratorial wink to the audience. Wisely, Anderson pulls back from the exaggerated look of Asteroid City and The French Dispatch, which had begun to feel like parodies of his own work.

Ultimately, The Phoenician Scheme corrects some of Anderson's recent missteps but still leaves viewers emotionally cold and narratively uninvested. The technical mastery is still there, and familiar faces remain endearing, but Del Toro's misaligned performance in such a pivotal role weakens the film's core. The result is a forgettable, if not unwelcome, addition to Anderson's unique filmography. One hopes the American director continues to pursue his singular style-but slows down and reinvests in story and heart next time around. There's no need to rush.

MOONRISE KINGDOM was the first Wes Anderson movie I saw, and it's still my favorite. His newest is THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, a caper about Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), a businessman trying to squeeze his investors for more money to help overhaul the infrastructure of Phoenicia with slave labor. Joining him on his swindling journey are his estranged nun-to-be daughter Liesel (Mia Threapleton) and his assistant/tutor Bjørn (Michael Cera). It's a wonder how this is the first Anderson film that has Cera in it, the style is a perfect fit for him. If you're not familiar with the style, it's basically side scrolling camera work, symmetrical compositions, vibrant colors, and quick, whimsical dialogue. His best works have both style and substance. This movie definitely has the style, but I think the substance was lacking for me. Maybe I'm just getting tired of his schtick. The plot felt too mechanical and less emotional. It didn't truly have me invested in any of the characters. I laughed quite a bit though. It's always fun to see who Anderson has in his movies. They probably just come in for a day or two, have some fun filming their scene then leave. As always, this has exquisite art direction and production design. I really enjoyed the main trio. Ultimately, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME boils down to whether or not you're a fan of Wes Anderson movies. This is one of the quirkier ones in his repertoire. In my opinion, it's visually beautiful and funny, but forgettable.

Things have taken an interesting turn with Wes' films since Grand Budapest and his films since have not been universally popular, with their more experimental structure splits and dream sequences. Like any other Wes film The Phoenician Scheme is utterly beautiful. Despite this being the first Anderson film not to benefit from the master camerawork of Robert Yeoman the style is still very familiar and the use of props and stunningly created wardrobe are as much stars of the film as the many A-listers who make an appearance, no matter how brief. The dry wit of Richard Ayoade, one of Britain's smartest comedians, and Michael Cera particularly stand out.

It's difficult not to see Benicio del Toro's empathy free, slave-owning, greedy oligarch character spawning children (mostly boys) with wives he has no relationship with as making some reference to some of today's real life characters, much like Isle of Dogs was used to make a subtle reference to the growing anti-immigration narrative when released around a decade ago, but like Isle of Dogs, the ending of the film leaves room for a positive interpretation of current turbulent times.

While watching this film I felt a bit sad because it reminded me how funny Gene Hackman was as the disillusioned patriarch, a recurring theme in Wes Anderson films.

There is much to like in the Phoenician Scheme:

* Stravinsky - the use of music in the film is very good. I have always liked these pieces of music but to hear them together, in an up front way was special. I also loved Moonrise Kingdom for its extended use of Benjamin Britten.

*End Credits - worth watching as they tastefully but playfully hold your attention.

* Costumes and sets - as always of the highest quality * Colour Pallette - the most confectionary-like cinema has ever been; a mixture of stop animation, play within a film and situationist comedy.

It's easy to dismiss Wes Anderson films as being all the same but if this were the only film he'd made it would easily be the best of the year so far. Only because we as viewers have limited memory to store a few classics by each filmmaker, unfortunately Anderson's last few films have been slightly overlooked.