Arms dealer and millionaire Zsa-Zsa Korda survives another assassination attempt when his plane crashes. He is used to it, since he made many enemies, but decides to repair his broken relationship with his daughter Liesl, a Catholic nun. Together with assistant Bjørn, they go to implement Korda's "Phoenician Scheme", a business plan which will ensure them a huge fortune. Korda hopes Liesl will inherit his business. Bjørn turns out to be a spy, but falls in love with Liesl. Korda's brother Nubar killed Liesl's mother. In a clash, Korda kills Nubar. He renounces all his business and goes to lead a bistro with Liesl, who quit being a nun to become a cook.
"The Phoenician Scheme" seems to follow an unwritten rule: the higher the number of a cast in a Wes Anderson film, the more it is inversely proportional to the film's quality. One of Anderson's weakest films, "The Phoenician Scheme" is a strange patchwork of disconnected episodes which feels more like an exercise than a real, coherent film product. Anderson was never interested in a story or characters, but was instead more invested in his camera frames and style, yet he had a better balance in his earlier, more modest films, as opposed to here where he went a bit overboard. At times difficult to comprehend and follow, "The Phoenician Scheme" is supposed to be, at its core, a film about a father-daughter relationship, yet since there is almost no emotion or warmth, as everything is artificial and de-constructed, it is difficult to buy it. Benicio del Toro is slightly miscast as the main protagonist Korda, since he has no sense for comic timing or innocent charm, yet Mia threapleton is excellent as his daughter, nun Liesl. One remarkable moment appears when Liesl asks Bjørn when was his last confession, and he unexpectadly gives her one of the best compliments for a woman: "Are you really, terribly pure yourself?" - "Obviously, how can you ask me such a thing? Look at me." - "It wouldn't matter in the least. Even if you were the cheapest girl at the filthiest brothel in the seethiest red district on this world. Nothing could detract from your loveliness." The surreal tone is augmented by several moments where Korda has black-and-white visions of heaven, as a warning that he might not enter if he does not change and become a good person, and he even has this weird dialogue with God (Bill Murray): "Are you against slavery in the Bible?" - "It's damnable." Chaotic and wild, but without a sense for genuine ideas (for instance, isn't it a pity that lookalikes Tom Hanks and Bill Murray don't share a single scene together?), and a lot of underused or wasted actors (Scarlett Johansson), with great mise-en-scene lost in autism, this film is more for Anderson hard-core fans than universal audiences.
Grade:++
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