Phoenician Scheme, The (United States/Germany, 2025)

The older he has gotten, the more offbeat his films have become. Now, to be clear, Wes Anderson has never been a conventional filmmaker. His movies have always appealed more to niche audiences than mainstream ones. (My favorite of his oeuvre, Moonrise Kingdom, is arguably his most accessible.) In recent years, however, his films have become more stylized and idiosyncratic, de-emphasizing narrative coherence and consistency in the service of thematic emphasis and satirical elements. For those who enjoy Anderson’s patented quirkiness, The Phoenician Scheme doesn’t disappoint. Assembled with the abettance of longtime friend and collaborator Roman Coppola, Anderson has almost completely dispensed with a conventional storyline in service of a movie that delights in parodying seemingly anything and everything. 

Explaining what it’s about misses the point. The Phoenician Scheme isn’t intended to be appreciated in the same way as anything playing in the other 11 auditoriums of the multiplex. It challenges the viewer to simply sit back and enjoy the hijinks that ensue. When it’s all over, there will be plenty of chuckles but no sense of wonder or transformation. This is Anderson at his most diluted. There’s something of Woody Allen in the film’s DNA. During his periods of whimsy, Allen tilted his windmill toward comedic riffs and employed the services of high-profile ensemble casts. There’s some of that going on here – not many filmmakers could assemble a cast with Benicio Del Toro, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, and Benedict Cumberbatch and still come in with an arthouse-friendly budget. 

Only three members of the cast have substantial roles: Del Toro, who plays wealthy industrialist Zsa-Zsa Korda; Mia Threapleton, who plays Korda’s daughter, the novice nun Liesl; and Michael Cera, who plays Bjorn, Korda’s administrative assistant. The movie, which transpires in a fictionalized 1950, focuses on Korda’s attempts to realize his ambitious and immoral “Phoenician Scheme,” which has a number of investors but is suffering from a significant funding gap. After naming Liesl as his heir (something necessary due to the frequency of assassination attempts being made on his life), Zsa-Zsa drags Liesl and Bjorn on a globe-hopping journey in an attempt to close the gap, trying to renegotiate deals with such diverse figures as a pair of Californian businessmen (Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston); the gangster Marseilles Bob (Mathie Malric); Newark, N.J. investor Marty (Jeffrey Wright); Korda’s possible future wife, Cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson); and Korda’s estranged half-brother, Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch). Along the way, questions arise about Liesl’s parentage and Zsa-Zsa begins to grow a conscience. 

None of the comedy in The Phoenician Scheme is likely to provoke paroxysms of laughter. It’s more of a dry wit – the kind that causes wry smiles and quiet chuckles. Anderson finds countless targets for his satirical barbs – everything from autocratic leaders, money-hungry businessmen, guerillas, nuns, and the afterlife. He pulls in the likes of Bill Murray, F. Murray Abraham, and Willem Dafoe for heavenly cameos. If one wants to look for more traditional story elements, there’s a spiritual arc for Zsa-Zsa and some father/daughter bonding. 

The three primary thespians are in fine form. Del Toro leans toward his comedic side – something he doesn’t often get to show. Mia Threapleton, Kate Winslet’s daughter, acquits herself admirably in her first major role – her deadpan approach to Liesl is perfectly pitched. And Michael Cera is delightfully loopy, especially after a personality flip-flop. Of those with smaller parts, the standout would have to be Benedict Cumberbatch, whose decadently vile personality is matched by this bizarre appearance. 

The Phoenician Scheme isn’t Anderson at his finest. He has made films that are funnier, more touching, and more outrageous. But it feels like a tonic amidst this year’s flood of high-concept, low-ceiling productions that seem to have been assembled more with an eye toward crafting a compelling trailer than making an enjoyable movie. The Phoenician Scheme is like a vacation from the noise and disappointment of far too many multiplex movies – an opportunity to simply enjoy familiar actors doing unfamiliar things in a fully-aware nonsense screenplay.

Phoenician Scheme, The (United States/Germany, 2025)