Movie Review ~ The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

So I've seen Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme," and that experience was something that got me thinking. This is the story of Anatoly Jaja Korda, an industrialist and arms dealer who chooses his daughter Lizal to take over his job after he is attacked. But it's not that easy. Lizal first needs to know if her mother has been killed by her father. Jaja also has to launch its own risky scheme.

Now this story, which was shown to us in 1.5: 1 aspect ratio, it is packed with Wes Anderson's symmetry, tremendous set design and from the costumes to the dialogues, from the smallest detail. A pure Wes Anderson movie, where the main character is going to many lengths to make his scheme come true. I might be able to find enough experience to give you the perfect review of a Wes Anderson movie. But I understood the value behind the story, and that was the beauty of this movie.

The story is packed with details. The dialogues have been written very meticulously, and the dialogue delivery is what we will discuss in the acting part. But when I am talking about details, I would like to say here that you can tell this story without a strong set, without overwhelming details. But the thing is that the beauty of Wes Anderson's direction here somewhere adds a value to the arc of the main character Jaja.

The intro itself was a work of art, where the main character is just bathing, and we see the names of the actors who appear in the movie. There are 10 situations in the movie, which looked amazing in its symmetrical direction style, and it appealed to me in a very different sense. Because this direction is holding you and making you understand the depth of the atmosphere, which you are taking just like the story, not like the main character or the audience surrogate, you are also feeling the emotion.

The story is packed with dark comedy, because it is an Espionage dark comedy. Where the blood transfusion scene was my favourite. Plus, a revolutionary comes to a place, looting people, who is perfectly explaining to them where all this will go by looting, along with which he shoots at the ceiling. It was a very funny scene.

By the way, Wes Anderson is known for such terrific movies as "The Darjeeling Limited" and "Grand Budapest Hotel." He showed a different approach to his storytelling here as well, which was not lacking. In its core, it was a father's story, which he brought to us perfectly. Wes Anderson has written a story with Roman Coppola. Roman is the son of Francis Ford Coppola, who is known as the 'Godfather'. He has previously worked with Wes Anderson in several films.

The music of the film was perfect, going very well with its theme, and the movie was also very beautiful in appearance. I will again appreciate the intro scene. Also, the scene with the dinner table and the view of the afterlife, you can print it and hang it in your house. Each set piece will surprise you. From makeup to each costume, a lot of attention has been paid.

Now let's talk about the actors, because this movie is packed from beginning to end with terrific performers. I haven't seen many movies by Benicio and Del Toro. I know Manley from his role as the Collector in that Marvel, and I've also seen his "Usual Suspects." But I saw him in the main role in this movie, and what a great performance Benicio has given in this movie. He played the role of a shady businessman and a tough father. His dialogue delivery, his fall, getting angry at children, these were some of the scenes where you will see an effortlessness in his performance. That's the mark of a professional actor.

Mia Threapleton plays the role of Jaja's daughter Lizal, who is also a nun. It was not an easy role to play. A nun who is searching for her mother's murderer, along with which this character is the audience surrogate, through which the audience is also getting to know the world of Jaja. And maybe he or any of the characters didn't blink even once in the movie.

One would assume that this actress has done only five-six films. But overshadowing every scene was Michael Cera, who was playing the role of Yan here, and there were layers to his characters. His character had an attachment to the Insect, along with which he had other responsibilities. But we know what is the level of Michael Cera? What was the dialogue delivery of this pro actor in this film? Here he had to speak his dialogues in multiple accents, which he spoke perfectly, and these three were the main characters.

While the villain was Benedict Cumberbatch's uncle Nobar Korda, whom you will not see in this movie, this man has played roles like "Doctor Strange" and "Sherlock Holmes." His role on a completely different character was very limited, when it came and when it went, it was not known.

Well, none of the actors have left any stone unturned here. Everyone has given their absolute best, and it seems to me that the $30 million budget of this movie was only spent on casting, because you're showing performers of the caliber of Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright and Riz Ahmed for a while. Plus, there were only a few lines from Willem Dafoe. Wes Anderson must have known some magic, that he is casting such strong actors only for small roles.

However, the performers have to be praised, because they were breathing a different life in this movie. I was surprised to see Richard Ayoade's Sergio. Someone will believe that this man has already appeared to us in the "IT Crowd."

Overall, I would like to say one thing that if you are a little inclined towards art cinema, then you must watch this movie. Even I would say that you should take notes while watching this film. This film is a master-class. In filmmaking, acting and putting forward a different approach.

But if you haven't seen the film, what are your expectations? And if you have seen this movie, let's talk about it in detail in the comments.