Pisaries Creator

This short movie review doesn’t have any major spoilers!

I’m not sure if I should be even doing a review since I saw this movie two weeks ago already. Well, here goes nothing. The Phoenician Scheme is a dark comedy by Wes Anderson. You can spot a Wes Anderson movie from miles away due to the storylines, the quirky acting, the crisp and stylized production design, and witty dialogue. The major actors and actresses involved in this movie catapult it to a high level of entertainment. The cast includes Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton (yes, Kate Winslet’s daughter), Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, F. Murray Abraham, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe, and Bill Murray. While this does not rank in my top three favorite Wes Anderson movies, I recommend it any person wanting to see a great movie.

The setting is mid-20th century, and Anatole Korda (Benicio del Toro) survives again from another assassination attempt. This forces him to reach out to his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton) and find comfort in Bjørn Lund (Michael Cera), his administrative assistant. As Korda tries to find allies to further his business investments and continue his risky operations, he must travel to convince investors to help him cover the missing money in his Phoenician scheme. Liesl learns more about her family including her father’s half-brother, Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch) and her father’s cousin, Hilda Sussman-Korda (Scarlett Johannson). In a last attempt to woo his investors, Korda shows his ingenuity and all the while someone is still trying to kill him.

The movie opened up with Korda introducing his children to Liesl, but near the end of the movie when the dust had settled and the fires have been put out, Korda and Liesl try to their best to tolerate each other in their fractured relationship. He agrees to change to a point while she agrees to accept her new lifestyle. While the transition scene from second to last was a little abrupt, this made sense where all the investors and non-investors whether dead or still alive lead Korda to his current state. As a last parting comment, of course, Benicio del Toro is great, but the supporting cast of Michael Cera, Jeffrey Wright, and Benedict Cumberbatch were superb. One of the best scenes was the basketball scene of Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, and Benicio del Toro. It was damn near perfection. It’s the reason people watch movies in the theatre.

I rate The Phoenician Scheme FOUR FINGERS AND ONE THUMB at 95%.