We round up the reviews for Wes Anderson’s latest film…
The Guardian: *** “It rattles amiably along in that savant-child style that Anderson has made his own, but is in danger of becoming a mannerism. It is always entertaining, and delivered with the usual conviction and force but with less of the romantic extravagance than we’ve seen before, less of the childlike loneliness that has been detectable in his greatest movies.”
The Telegraph: ***** “The stylish director pushes his craft further into the abstract with this tender, wondrous comedy – which features a typically starry cast.”
Den of Geek: “The Phoenician Scheme is simply a lovely work from an artist with a fresh spring in his step. If you already count yourself among his admirers, it’s a return to form with moments of divine inspiration (just wait until you see who he cast as God). For the rest, it may not cause conversion, but it’s certainly worth sharing some communion wine over.”
The Independent: **** “Making the most of a stellar cast, this pictorial treat sees the director approach live-action drama as if he is making animation.”
Deadline: “The film belongs lock, stock and barrel to Del Toro, playing this Onassis-style billionaire who proves again to be so adept to the rhythms of Anderson’s dialogue and delivers flawlessly here. So do newcomer Threapleton as Liesl and Cera, a first-timer in Anderson’s stock company who undoubtedly will be asked back.”
Empire: **** “It’s impossible to even entertain the idea that all Wes Anderson films are the same when The Phoenician Scheme proves that the director is at his most fun when he bends his rules. (Keep an eye out for a rare Dutch angle from cinema’s most level filmmaker.) It may not be for everyone, but Anderson’s ability to consistently reinvent himself while retaining his essence will always go down a treat.”
RogerEbert.com: *** ““The Phoenician Scheme” is Wes Anderson’s conversation with himself about what it means to be both successful and decent, and an examination of how someone who has flattened everything in his way can see the world three-dimensionally again.”
BFI.org.uk: “How to judge Korda, this bullheaded tyrant with a dream and a will? Anderson doesn’t revere him but does love him, and believes in redemption, as well as a clean change of clothes. It’s telling that there is no oil in this story of Gulf development and exploitation (even Tintin acknowledged the black gold); that doesn’t wash out so well. The film spurns two pessimistic parables we tell of the powerful: the Icarus who sabotages himself, and the scorpion who stings the frogs beneath him. There is blood, bad blood, in The Phoenician Scheme, but there are also transfusions, and regeneration.”
Slant Magazine: “Anderson never hints at autofiction in the story, yet it’s easy to draw a line between Korda’s revelation and the director’s stylistic maturation.”