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I have come to the realisation that the Wes Anderson films that work are the ones with the right balance of story. At least in the case of his recent output. Anderson’s very particular style has been firmly set now since 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, where he always eschews any authentic outdoor location and strips his characters of all humanity. If you look back at his earlier films, even though the performances are quirky they still have some warmth and the settings are natural. The Darjeeling Limited, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Moonrise Kingdom (still my favourite) are actually built largely around their beautiful location shoots. Now though everything is captured on soundstages with either CGI or painted plywood backdrops (I’m not sure what he’s using where but it always looks like the latter). It’s as though he so fell in love with animation once he had tried that for the first time that he now just continues in this aesthetic even in his life action films. (2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox is actually the movie that changed everything and has proved the influence for everything since.)

So while I’d love Anderson to shake things up a bit and yes, do what every sullen screen addicted teenager needs to do and go outside for some fresh air occasionally, he does seem to be very committed to this same approach he has taken now for over a decade. This being the case the key to the success of each movie is how he manages the main thing he has left, the narrative and plotting. When there is too little of this his work can feel empty, as was arguably true of Asteroid City, and when there is too much, as was totally the case with The French Dispatch, it can be tedious and borderline excruciating. The most successful of his recent output is definitely The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar precisely because it hung on the work of another master storyteller. Anderson on his own does not have this skill. 

Sad to say then that The Phoenician Scheme does not quite get this right, tipping in this instance toward a lack of diegesis. Of course there are enjoyable elements, as there always are with Anderson, but it doesn’t quite come together as a whole. If Fantastic Mr. Fox was this director’s kid’s movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel his thriller (the balance is good on that one) and Asteroid City his sci-fi, then this is his action film. The story, as it is, follows a businessman of questionable ethics as he tries to finalise a long gestating deal while dodging repeated murder attempts. This leads to some dark but amusing visuals as others are caught in the crossfire, literally and figuratively, including one moment earlier on that comes out of nowhere and effectively sets the tone for what follows. All of the actors give nice, if brief, moments too (at least one Oscar winner is effectively just an extra) . Tom Hanks, Brian Cranston and Riz Ahmed stand out in my favourite of the off kilter business meetings that comprise the staccato plot. Benicio Del Toro is also good in the lead role but most of his scenes are shared with two actors who eclipse him at every moment. The first of these is Michael Cera, who should have joined Anderson’s troupe ages ago, and the other is relative new comer Mia Threapleton who actually does bring some feeling back to the Anderson oeuvre with a turn that is still dry but not as cold as we normally see in his movies. Threapleton is Kate Winslet’s daughter and while she does not explode into cinema in the same way her mother did with the double whammy of Heavenly Creatures and Sense & Sensibility back in the mid nineties, big things are definitely coming. 

If you enjoy West Anderson’s current schtick (or are a particular fan of Richard Ayoade) then there are things here worth the ticket price but even you might find it a bit trying. If not then stay away, there is nothing here that will convert you.