Format: DVD from Sycamore Public Library on gigantic television.
Wes Anderson is one of those directors whose films are immediately recognizable. I was trying to figure out exactly what it is in terms of his composition and characters that makes his film so distinctive and I’ve finally figured it out—it’s the title of this write-up. Everyone in Wes Anderson films is autistic. In his early films, it was only some of the characters, but now, everyone in his films has got a touch of the ‘tism, and they’ve all got the same variety. It wasn’t until I finished The Phoenician Scheme that I finally understood this.
The Phoenician Scheme is mid-level Wes Anderson, and I don’t like having to say that. I tend to like Wes Anderson films pretty well, although I can only take a bit of him at a time. Now that I’ve seen this, I probably won’t watch another of his films for six or seven months. When Anderson is good, he’s really good. When he’s off, even a bit, everything feels like it falls apart. The Phoenician Scheme just never feels like it gels in the way his films normally do. It might be simply because the characters here, almost to a person, are unlikeable.
And that’s what makes this film feel like a letdown, although to be fair, I haven’t really liked a Wes Anderson film a lot since The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs, which came out 11 and 7 years ago respectively. It feels lately like he’s trying too hard, and while there are elements her that feel like a return to form for Anderson, as a movie it’s not what we’ve come to expect.
We’re going to spend our time with Anatole “Zsa-Zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro), an extremely wealthy and powerful business magnate who is also widely hated to the point that he has survived a number of assassination attempts. Knowing that his time is likely short, he decides to make his one daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton) his sole heir over his nine sons. However, Liesl is a month away from taking vows as a nun. So, on a trial basis, Zsa-Zsa names her heir and demands that she accompany him on his latest scheme.
That scheme involves completely overhauling the infrastructure of Phoenicia using slave labor. Governments around the world are keen to stop him, and even his business partners aren’t really that excited about working with him despite the fact that his schemes always make money. Liesl agrees to go with him only because he promises her that she will get revenge on her uncle, Nubar Korda (Benedict Cumberbatch under a lot of crepe hair), who Zsa-Zsa claims is responsible for her mother’s death. Accompanying them on their travels to contact all of his business partners, will be Bjørn (Michael Cera), a tutor who is going to teach them all about insects while they go from place to place.
In their travels, they are going to encounter Zsa-Zsa’s business partners, all of whom want to back out of the deal, or who at least are not willing to cover the risks of the plan. They are also going to have to deal with a number of additional assassination attempts. There will be plans with in plans, double-crosses, and more.
As tends to be the case with Wes Anderson, many of his regular players are here, often in small roles that put them on screen for just a couple of minutes. In fact, this is true of almost everyone aside from del Toro, Threapleton, and Cera. This means we’re going to see Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, and more. Anderson has also brought in some new players, a couple of which seem like they are naturals for him. Richard Ayoade feels like he should have been in Anderson’s films forever.
Anderson was always destined to eventually win an Oscar. It’s mildly surprising to me that he won for Live Action Short rather than screenplay, which I assume is going to happen eventually. It's also not a surprise that his main set designer, Adam Stockhausen, has won an Oscar for designing one of Anderson’s films. Anderson will win a Screenplay Oscar eventually, I think, and while it’s certainly possible he will win for The Phoenician Scheme, it will feel a bit like a career win, since he’s had a number of better, funnier, and more interesting screenplays.
Is it good? Yeah, it’s fine. But it’s not better than fine.
Why to watch The Phoenician Scheme: It’s Wes Anderson, so you know what you’re getting.
Why not to watch: At some point, Wes Anderson’s style is going to implode, and it’s getting close.
No comments:
Post a Comment