“What matters is the sincerity of your devotion.”

Director Wes Anderson’s signature ornate style and quick quips make a return in The Phoenician Scheme, featuring a screenplay by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, and incredible performances by Benicio Del Toro as Zsa-Zsa Korda, Mia Threapleton as Liesl, and Michael Cera as Bjorn.

After his sixth plane crash, Zsa-zsa Korda, a hungry and apathetic infrastructure baron pinned with a long list of accused crimes and dodged assassination attempts, seeks to make his daughter, Liesl, the sole heir to his empire. Liesl is a blunt, skeptical novitiate nun whom Korda has not contacted in six years and is his only daughter out of ten children. Described by Liesl as the “trial period of being [his] daughter,” Korda promises that if she tags along with him on an adventure, he’ll help her discover the truth behind her mother’s death. They are accompanied on this journey by Norwegian tutor and entomologist Bjorn, a testament to Korda’s interest in insects.

The visual elements were what made this movie. This film showcases Bruno Delbonnel’s rich, masterful cinematography, shot on 35 mm film, paired with vibrant and velvety color grading. This marks Anderson’s first live-action film without his usual cinematographer, Robert Yeoman. The production design was very precise and intimate. There were so many witty, as well as simply beautiful easter eggs to be found when taking a closer look at the screen. Korda’s sixth crash site is littered with his collection of insect books as well as eclectic, historical erotica. You see that Bjorn takes a bug net and a cage with him wherever he goes. The numerous amount of weapons are either large or opulent. As a particularly enchanting enrichment to the story, Korda gifts Liesl a jewel-adorned pipe to replace her standard one, serving as both a testimony and a contradiction to her role as a novitiate.

“Is god more interested in my money or my soul?”

While it is visually astonishing in every way, which comes as no surprise to anyone, the story falls short on, well… a story. It’s hard to follow what happens, it makes basic commentary on capitalism and religion, and at some junctures, it tumbles on its grandiosity and becomes boring. There are so many genuinely funny moments that are squandered and smashed into the ground by the amount of repetition this movie is committed to, such as the short arguments between Korda and his associates, consisting of incoherent shouting over one another that end abruptly. One continuous bit that did manage to land every time, in our opinion, was Korda asking every associate he met up with to help themselves to a hand grenade, a collection of which he carries around in a box. This film was filled to the brim with quick cuts between an overabundance of gags and cliches, and only a few unique comedic moments were memorable. One of them being a news report post plane crash, where a newscaster declares Korda dead while Korda walks up to him. Next to the newscaster stands the pilot, who was ejected mid-air by Korda, with only a broken arm. Another one being when Lisel points out that Bjorn is drunk on three beers.

3/5 stars: Cera, Threapleton, and the visuals are what push you to continue watching this movie. They hold it together.

Although the script may not be anywhere near a masterpiece, each actor gives a great performance. Benicio Del Toro’s performance was booming, but even though he had a thunderous presence, Threapleton and Cera were the two standouts of this movie, which goes to show how amazing they truly were. Michael Cera was such a gem that sparkled in this character and surely a carnal dream for Wes Anderson’s entire schtick. He was effortlessly funny and able to masterfully blend into this kooky world, giving such a knockout performance. The same goes for Mia Threapleton; her stoicism and sarcasm mix to create a luciously captivating performance, your eyes will be glued to her, wanting to catch even the subtlest of her acting choices. The actors truly gave it their all and put their art on full display, and that is one of the most enjoyable things about this movie.