O Esquema Fenício

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.

The Phoenician Scheme doesn't push Wes Anderson's usual tropes to the extreme like Asteroid City or The French Dispatch but it does end up doing just about everything you'd expect from one of his movies without any of the flair. The movie feels like it's on autopilot from the very first scenes and Anderson just ends up feeling like he's recycling his usual tropes to the effect of feeling so dull. I didn't hate this movie but I was amazed by how much of a chore it was to get through.

Anderson's last few movies have been criticised for disappearing too far into his own style but I personally enjoyed the unique experiences those movies provided. The French Dispatch is his magnum opus in my opinion and even if I thought Asteroid City was too overwhelming at times I still liked how much it left me to chew on but that's not the case here at all. The story was painfully uninteresting to me and it's told in the flattest, more linear way imaginable. It's essentially a series of business negotiations for nearly the entire runtime and not only do they feel insanely repetitive but they often drag on far longer than necessary.

I'm not really sure what Anderson's ultimate vision for this film because he doesn't really do anything behind the camera that we haven't seen from him before and his trademark humour really didn't work for me this time around. It's very deadpan with a lot of moments of quirkiness that just feel forced, it actually made me cringe more often than it didn't with the climax in particular feeling quite ridiculous. From a cinematography perspective it looks gorgeous and I really did feel like the performances were hitting the right notes but I just felt nothing. Most of the supporting characters just feel one noted and they end up feeling like quirks more than anything. Benicio Del Toro's character can be entertaining but he's just far too unlikable and never really felt like the script did much to redeem him by the time the film ends.

The Phoenician Scheme is disappointingly flat in almost every way and for whatever criticisms people might have with Anderson's recent offerings at least they had the energy that I thought was sorely missing here. It's not a particularly interesting story with characters that never really peaked my interest at all and the few interesting gimmicks Anderson does use feel like they've been done by him before and better. There's almost surprises technically and it really did end up feeling like Anderson was trying to make one of his own movies. Anderson is very hit and miss for me and I can honestly say that this movie felt like my least favourite aspects of all his work wrapped together in one package.

If I could sum up Wes Anderson's films in one word, it would be "meticulous". Everything in his frames, dialogue, design and production is carefully manicured to a T, and as a result is both very beautiful and hilarious.

As a result of this, all of his films feel like they are on a knife's edge to tip to either an enjoyable masterpiece or a tedious dud. This one feels more like the latter.

It's not to say there aren't some good or funny moments, along with a fantastic cast. But the main relationship between a high ranking corrupt tycoon and his estranged religious daughter never really feels like it hits that mark of deep emotional resonance.

The Grand Budapest Hotel remains his magnum opus. And Henry Sugar is also when Wes is at his finest, which earned him an Oscar for Best Short.

Phoenician felt like a beautiful looking piece added to his collection rather than a film.

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.