The Phoenician Scheme | 5 Reasons to Watch

Auteur filmmaker and corduroy enthusiast Wes Anderson returns to the big screen on the 23rd May with his new film The Phoenician Scheme (2025). Despite all of his artistic achievements and his distinctly designed and executed filmography there are groups of people who think he may have overstepped the line and became a self parody of himself with his last few features, straying from his earlier, relatable features. For all those naysayers who can’t see the wood for the trees, I say they’re all missing out by not going to see his new picture or diving back into his wonderfully curated worlds that benefit after repeat viewings. 2024 welcomed The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More by Anderson which are sadly underrated in his immensely impressive filmography as they live, ironically, on the untidy and unsophisticated realm of Netflix and were soon forgotten about after a brief theatrical release. Despite the lack of respect Anderson’s films have received post The Grand Budapest Hotel and the director being accused with overabundant accusations of style of substance in his late career efforts, there is call for a reassessment for his later output. In my opinion Wes Anderson, bang for your buck is one of if not the most important directors of the 21st century. 

With that I present my reasons for why The Phonenican Scheme (and Wes Anderson films in general) deserves a watch.

Chapter I  The Ensemble Casting

Wes Anderson has always been one for his large array of characters that inhabit his dollhouse landscapes and express their cries for help through restrained, deadpan dialogue. The person largely responsible for the brilliant ensembles is casting director Douglas Aibel who has cast eight of the last eleven Anderson films since The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). They have not disappointed again with a cast of Anderson regulars returning with Benicio del Toro, Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murrary while also introducing Michael Cera who seems like he would have fit in a number of Anderson roles in the last decade with his peculiar quirky attitude and childlike innocence both in looks and sober characters he's played over the years. Another new casting is Mia Threapleton who has acted in an episode of the channel 4 show I Am… alongside her mother Kate Winslet. Despite not acting much before, from the trailer alone, Threapleton fits perfectly into the style of Anderson alongside scene partner Michael Cera. Anderson alumni Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks and Jefferey Wright, Willem Dafoe and Richard Ayaode are also part of the star studded cast alongside newcomer to the world of Wes, Riz Ahmed. Whether their roles last a few seconds or the entire runtime, Wes Anderson uses the actors skillfully and infuses their characters with the unique, undeniably recognisable Wes Anderson dialogue and comedic timing.

Chapter II  Continuation of his ever-evolving style

The average moviegoer has their idea of what a Wes Anderson movie is like. Harmoniously symmetrical shot compositions, lovingly built, pastel tinged mid century set design and a keen eye for detail with both prop design and character costumes. Since his first feature Bottle Rocket (1996) every film of Anderson’s has evolved in some way or another to reach what most would call his auteur style and which he is best recognised by. As his films have gone on and especially after his first forte into his stop motion animation film with Fantastic Mr Fox (2009) Anderson has embraced the dollhouse aesthetic of his sets and characters more so than ever before and by using the techniques of stop motion animation, rigid camera pans and snap zooms adds to the uncanny quality that inhabit the storybook worlds. This style has really become noticeable in the last handful of Anderson’s films and is the reason for discussion of whether this was the intended evolution of his style or a Flanderization of what was subtle in his earlier films. I for one fully welcome with open arms the next step of his filmmaking style. In regards to The Phoenician Scheme, he always seems to be introducing a new flavour within his style that keeps his approach to filmmaking fresh and vibrant whether that's a three minute long 2D animated sequence in The French Dispatch (2021) or creating a russian nesting doll of narratives like The Grand Budapest Hotel and Asteroid City (2023) creating a constantly layered shifting perspective, a blend of aspect ratios, colour palettes in a kaleidoscopic tone shift. So I look forward to what new additions will be utilised and created for this next feature.

Chapter III  Similar Motifs

The Phonecian Scheme welcomes an archetypal character dynamic that has been present throughout Wes Anderson’s characters since his defining film The Royal Tenenbaums, that being a dysfunctional father-daughter relationship. The plot of The Phoenician Scheme centres around Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) appointing his only daughter, Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton) out of his ten children, nine of which are boys, to be the heir of his estate. The duo of moody - forever adolescent daughter and childish, distant father was first presented in an Tenebaums with characters Margot Tenenbaum and Royal Tenenbaum portrayed by Gweneth Paltrow and the late great Gene Hackman. These character types are throughout Anderson’s filmography like in Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and are ever present in the wider motif of dysfunctional families that populate the majority of his films. As well as character similarities, the obvious iconic camera movements that are down to a tee and his worldbuilding is like no other. All of Anderson’s characters harbour a deeper feeling that is shielded away by use of his deadpan dialogue style and colourfully bright worlds as a way to hide what they're feeling. Characters like Augie Steenbeck in Asteroid City (2023) not understanding why he put his hand on the hot stove purely as an instinctual bizarre way of dealing with the pressures of grief and overall confusion. Or after arguing constantly for the entire runtime of the film, Chas Tenenbaums speaks to Royal after the events that have unfolded saying "I've had a rough year Dad”. These moments are key in Anderson films and make the whole use of his style work alongside his strange but affectionate dialogue, unlocking a deeper understanding of the characters rearing the realistic humanity that was deep inside them.

Chapter IV  A New Cinematographer 

Although some Anderson regulars are returning to collaborate on The Phoenician Scheme like composer Alexandre Desplat and Roman Coppola with this being his sixth collaboration with Anderson, this new entry introduces cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel back after shooting Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion in 2016 which was a short film advertisement by Anderson. Now helming an entire feature film and being a frequent cinematographer of Tim Burton and the Coen Brothers Delbonnel gets to show off his talent in the world of a Wes Anderson film. Other than Roman Coppola who did the cinematography for The Swan short in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More, Robert Yeoman has been the man behind the camera for all of Wes Anderson’s live action films since his very first back in 1996 and is one of the reasons his films have that consistent style and recognisable cinematic visual language. This new power team will hopefully evolve Anderson’s style more-so and maybe even put him outside his comfort zone that he had with Yeoman, even possibly experiment more with his established style. It does show however how powerful Anderson’s visions are for his worlds with how consistent his style has been for so long and keeping in line with the cinematic vocabulary that he has built a strong foundation upon to use in each of his proceeding films. It'll be an intrigue to see how Delbonnel utilises the world of Wes after already being responsible for some of the best looking films of the 21st century so far (The Tragedy of Macbeth, 2021 and Amelie, 2001).

Chapter V Wes Anderson’s Unique voice.

Over the last thirty years of his career, Wes Anderson has become one of the biggest auteurs and fascinating figures in the film industry. I think through poor marketing and distribution his recent films haven't been doing as well as I would have liked for his career. Of course as a fan I’d like him to make his small budgets of $20-25 million into quadruple that at the box office but alas he earns a good amount to make more of his films. As long as Anderson is able to make a film every few years with his vision untouched and ideals uncorrupted then it shows there's still a kernel of goodness in the Hollywood system. Other than his brilliant talent as a director and a visual storyteller his skills are also showcased with his screenwriting ability that pair succinctly within his perfectly quirky and assembled worlds contrasting the sudden bouts of existentialist dialogue that hit you like a ton of bricks. Essentially what im trying to say is that there won’t be another director like Wes Anderson. In a tumultuous era of the film industry and a culture that is relying more on computer effects and AI every year, it’s refreshing to see a director so committed to traditional ways of filmmaking like, using matte paintings, miniatures, stop motion animation, building practical sets and on location filming. We need more directors with the same values and passion for the craft elements of filmmaking and setting an example for the next generation of filmmakers.

Written by Michael Tasker | IG: @thegoldenecstasy | LB: Haelcim