'The Phoenician Scheme' Review: Another Wes Anderson's Visual Masterpiece- But Is It Style Over Substance?
- Alex Leptos
- Jun 6
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Wes Anderson is a filmmaker with such a unique style that it has become its own genre, and his latest, The Phoenician Scheme, is Wes Anderson at his most “Wes Anderson”- so much so that at times, it almost feels like a parody, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way.
Everything you’d hope for from The Grand Budapest Hotel director is here: quirky characters, deadpan dialogue, absurd humour, perfect symmetry, and that signature candy-coloured palette. As you'd expect, the film is so visually striking that it felt like something out of Disneyland- every frame truly a painting. These were occasionally broken up by highly stylised black-and-white sequences, which served as welcome resets for the eyes.
The Phoenician Scheme follows a secretive diplomat (Benicio del Toro) caught in a surreal web of espionage, mistaken identity, and missing artifacts- all set against a backdrop of Anderson’s signature pastel-soaked European landscapes.
That being said… was it style over substance? Maybe. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure if the story itself was just banal or if I was too mesmerised by the visual style to care. Toward the end, the charm of the aesthetic started to wear off a little- and with that, I began to realise that the narrative beneath it all might not have been all that compelling. But that's a strong might. In any case, I'm willing to forgive this since it happened in the latter stages of the film.
The cast is a who's-who of A-listers and many frequent Wes Anderson collaborators: Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Willem Dafoe (seriously, how many films has Dafoe popped up in recently?), Jeffrey Wright, Richard Ayoade, and Riz Ahmed. Some feel completely at home in Anderson’s quirky world, while others might seem like unexpected choices- but no one feels out of place. Each actor blends seamlessly into the film’s whimsical universe.
Overall, I enjoyed The Phoenician Scheme. It may not be Anderson’s most narratively rich film, but it’s a visual feast and a bold, self-aware celebration of his distinct style. For fans of his work, it delivers exactly what you came for- and maybe a little more.
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