Wes Anderson’s new comedy is very much what he described as “three hander”, a story mostly around three characters – the millionaire father, the daughter (a would be nun) and the assistant secretary. (Movie distributor Cinemundo)
Plutocrat-entrepreneur Zsa-Zsa Korda is aiming to dominate the economy of a fictional Middle East nation, with mining and fishing ventures, using slave labour and manipulating the market. But now the US government and FBI-like agents are on his tail so Korda has to hurry and begin touring his investors trying to persuade them to accept less profit that what was agreed – and each scene gives us a gallery of eccentric figures in the best Anderson tradition.
The main actors excel in their roles – Benicio Del Toro is clearly having a blast as eccentric millionaire Zsa Zsa Korda, who has too much money for his own good and too many enemies trying to crash down his private plane; the young Mia Threapleton is a revelation as the reluctant heiress, a young girl trying to be a nun. Her face looked somewhat familiar, I discovered afterwards she was the daughter of Kate Winslet. Besides getting the beauty genes she has also gotten the talent for prime acting – this is really a breakthrough performance, the best in the movie.
“The Phoenician Scheme” is certainly thrilling and sets a mood, amplified by Alexandre Desplat’s harmonious score, supplemented by selections of Stravinsky and Beethoven, but it feels a bit like déjà vu. Wes Anderson and his geometrical Stockhausen production design are starting to feel more like a device, more a gimmick than heartfelt cinema.