The Guardian’s Film Review: Wes Anderson’s "The Phoenician Scheme"
Wes Anderson has once again crafted a film that is as elegant as it is eccentric, with his signature rectilinear comedies being both a blessing and a curse. As noted by The Guardian, Anderson’s latest offering, "The Phoenician Scheme", is a enjoyable and well-executed film, but one that lacks the visual detail and inspiration of some of his earlier work.
According to The Guardian’s review, "The Phoenician Scheme" tells the story of Zsa-Zsa Korda, a notorious plutocrat-entrepreneur played by Benicio del Toro, who devises a plan to dominate the economy of a fictional Middle Eastern nation through a series of mining, transportation, and fishing ventures. This plan involves the use of exploitative slave labour and manipulation of the agricultural market to cause famine. As The Guardian notes, "The absurdly opaque and pointless ‘Phoenician Scheme’ of the title is a plan by notorious plutocrat-entrepreneur Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) to dominate the economy of a fictional Middle Eastern nation with an interlocking series of mining transportation and fishing ventures, by using exploitative slave labour and moreover manipulating the agricultural market in such a way as to cause famine."
The film boasts an impressive cast, including Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe, and Scarlett Johansson, although The Guardian observes that they appear to be "phoning in tiny, deadpan, almost immobile cameos". However, Mia Threapleton shines as Liesl, the novitiate nun who becomes embroiled in Zsa-Zsa’s scheme. As The Guardian comments, "There is a likable lead turn from Mia Threapleton, an eerie visual and aural echo of her mother, Kate Winslet."
The film’s narrative is described by The Guardian as "sketch
