The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Hand-Grenade Deals

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

There's a lot to like about Wes Anderson's dense, intricate comedy The Phoenician Scheme, even if its rapid-fire, ultra-complex plot steamrolls over the movie's humor in the second half.

We meet the notorious, insanely wealthy, and proudly crooked businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro). Due to his many enemies, there have been many attempts on his life, all of which he has survived. The latest is an airplane crash, which he miraculously walks away from. Seeing the writing on the wall, he summons his only daughter in a family full of sons.

She's Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who is on the verge of taking her vows and become a nun. Korda informs her that she will be in charge of his entire estate upon his death. Meanwhile, a consortium bent on taking Korda down has found a way to manipulate the stock market, putting Korda's fortune on the line.

So he and Liesl — accompanied by tutor and insect expert Bjorn (Michael Cera) — must travel around and visit Korda's four partners in an attempt to cover the loss. The journey is full of surprises, none more than Korda and Liesl unexpectedly beginning to grow closer.

The story of The Phoenician Scheme has our characters traveling all over to visit four characters or groups of characters to broker a quasi-shady business deal, and the details of that deal will blow right over many viewers' heads. This structure allows for several big laughs during the first half, but fewer and fewer as things go on.

Additionally, there's something slightly troubling about the movie's attempts to humanize a crooked, morally-corrupt, deal-making billionaire. However, something magical happens onscreen with Benicio Del Toro's performance. Anderson's movies are not generally known for showstopping acting; great actors generally fade into large ensemble tapestries. To date only Bill Murray in Rushmore, Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums, and maybe Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel have stood out, and Del Toro joins them. (Anderson wrote the role specifically for the actor.)

He finds wonderful nuance in this character, and his attempts at connecting with Mia Threapleton's Liesl grow ever more layered as the story goes on; they begin to feel more and more bonded, and more and more alike. So even as The Phoenician Scheme seems to begin to drag, it unexpectedly leaves off as one of Anderson's warmest movies.