The Phoenician Scheme (Peacock)

[thatguy]

I would have posted this yesterday, but I was fighting with my phone to spell Phonecian...

Watched this on Sat night. A good addition to the Wes Anderson canon. Like the Coens, he has his regular stable of thespians: Del Toro as Anatole "Zsa-Zsa" Korda - a Howard Hughes-esque rich guy, trying to prevent a hostile attack from "Them". Michael Cera as Bjorn - the Norwigian tutor. Mia Thrapleton (don't know her, but is apparently Kate Winslet's daughter and is good), plays Leisl - the estranged, daughter.

Lots of cameos, standard Anderson miniatures and sets, washed out colors and extremely symmetrical framing. It's his palette, but it really works. The story is told in several acts, but essentially, it's a quest for Korda and crew to try to get 
his associates to fund his scheme that will stave off the hostile attack. 

I enjoyed it. Intentionally or not, I felt a lot of Kubric in the cinematography. Particularly the "Them" scene reminded me of 



And another (can't remember now) made me think of:


Also, there were a number of bits where the pacing and cuts made me think of silent movies.

Recommended if you like Wes Anderson. 

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Totally agree. A very Anderson flick = deadpan delivery of sharp silly dialog, engrossing geometric backgrounds, absurd yet acceptable leaps, great cast underselling it until they oversell it. Del Toro killed it and this is the first role where I enjoyed Cera. Thrapelton shined. I could’ve gone for more Dafoe, Johansson & Murray but part of the Anderson charm is those short cameos. Thoroughly enjoyed this.

Recommended for D00Mer that are fans of Wes. He can be off putting if you take him seriously but he’s a delight when you don’t and just let his storytelling style wash over you.

Seen on Amazon prime.