‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Movie Review: An Adorably Awkward and Delightfully Offbeat Family Drama

The Phoenician Scheme Movie Review

As a longtime fan of Wes Anderson’s uniquely awkward charm, I walked into The Phoenician Scheme expecting to be dazzled by the film’s visuals, eccentric characters, and dry humor as I always am. And, I wasn’t disappointed—but I wasn’t profoundly moved either. While this is another endearing tale filled with Anderson’s quirky characters, it didn’t endear itself to me in the same way that Astroid City or The Royal Tenenbaums did.

The Phoenician Scheme follows the story of Anatole “Zsa-Zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro), a wealthy and morally questionable industrialist who has survived his sixth assassination attempt. After a near-death experience that gives him visions of the afterlife where his virtue is being weighed, Korda decides it’s time to name an heir to his empire. Despite having nine sons, he chooses his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), a novitiate nun whom he hasn’t seen in six years.

The plot centers around Korda’s ambitious infrastructure project for Greater Independent Phoenicia. But his business enemies have created funding gaps by manipulating material prices. This forces Korda to embark on a globe-trotting journey with Liesl and his new assistant Bjorn (Michael Cera), an entomologist from Norway, to secure investments from various colorful characters while dodging continued assassination attempts. What emerges is both an espionage thriller and a heartfelt story about redemption and family reconciliation.

Check out the trailer below.

The Phoenician Scheme Movie Trailer

The Phoenician Scheme Movie Review: What I Did and Didn’t Like About the Film

Watching an Anderson film is like stepping into a perfectly orchestrated dollhouse, and The Phoenician Scheme is no different. The attention to detail, crisp pastel imagery, whimsical set design, and visual storytelling are abundant here, making the experience satisfying and familiar for fans. Here, as usual, every single detail seems handpicked and arranged precisely.

Yet, amid this polished aesthetic, something felt missing for me — a deeper emotional punch. The emotional core of the film just felt cold to me.

Anderson’s early films, like Rushmore and The Life Aquatic, carried a tier of vulnerability that resonated powerfully beneath their stylish scenes. However, at times, this film can feel more like an exercise in visual perfection rather than an emotionally engaging story.

The Story

Anderson’s storytelling can sometimes appear enigmatic, almost intentionally confusing. Here, the convoluted business dealings and family schemes occasionally felt opaque and distracted me from fully connecting to the story beneath. Yet, despite its complexities, the journey remains engaging and funny, peppered generously with witty dialogue and whimsical interactions.

The underlying theme — a reflection on greed, redemption, and family dynamics — is thoughtfully portrayed. How do we find real value within inherited chaos or wealth? What defines family ties—blood, responsibility, or emotional connection? And what do redemption and forgiveness look like in a context so extreme, extravagant, and cartoonishly heightened as Korda’s world? Though these deeper questions occasionally become muddled by Anderson’s elaborate style, they never completely lose resonance.

The Performances

Casting has always been one of Anderson’s greatest strengths, and The Phoenician Scheme is no exception—the film has an ensemble of remarkable talent. Benicio del Toro embodies Korda with ease, bringing charm, comic timing, and playful charisma to the character. He’s entirely believable as this bizarre tycoon whose fortunes include orphan-adopting strategies, lavish lifestyles, and outlandish business plots.

Mia Threapleton brings subtle warmth and quiet grace to her performance. Her earnestness contrasts humorously with the absurdity around her character, Liesl. Her scenes provide emotional grounding to a narrative that, at times, seems utterly over the top. Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Rupert Friend, and a brief but memorable cameo by Bill Murray (as God) round out this remarkable cast.

However, the standout for me was Michael Cera as Bjorn, a timid, awkward tutor layered with secrets and unexpected martial arts skills. Cera seems hand-crafted for Anderson’s trademark tone—his performance is among the most memorable and delightful I’ve seen in recent Anderson movies. He captures a profound awkwardness mixed with surprising depth. And, Cera’s nuanced performance is both hilarious and genuinely endearing.

Overall Thoughts

The Phoenician Scheme is charming, visually delightful, and meticulously crafted, as are all of Anderson’s films. Yet, for all its enjoyable eccentricities and visual splendors, it sits comfortably in the middle of his filmography for me. But, it’s still Wes Anderson at his core — adorably awkward and wonderfully strange.

It’s important to acknowledge that Wes Anderson’s films aren’t for everyone. His highly stylized approach and deliberate pacing can feel alienating and boring to some viewers (my best friend fell asleep twice). However, if you’re already a fan of his work, The Phoenician Scheme will feel like a welcome return to form, offering all the visual candy and deadpan humor that make his films so enjoyable for his fans.

The Phoenician Scheme Movie Review:

Grade: B