Aaron's Thoughts
The more I see of Wes Anderson’s filmography, the more I realize that he doesn’t really have any huge misses. Sure, there is still a wide range of quality throughout his works - you’ve got the certified masterpieces all the way to the films that don’t fully work. Heck, even the ones that don’t fully work for me aren’t even bad films per se, they are simply mediocre & find themselves in the bottom tier of his overall filmography.
No real “bad” films is a testament to just how gifted he is behind the camera, his eye for production design, and his knack for getting exceptional performances out of his actors.
It feels weird to criticize someone whose worst movies are simply mediocre, but the Phoenician Scheme has me wondering if it should in fact be a criticism of Wes. Bad films in your filmography mean you are taking swings, trying new things, and risks are being taken. Sure, occasionally Wes will still find that lightning in a bottle magic to make something special, but when he doesn’t the films just feel really redundant.
Would swinging and missing on something new would be better than settling for the same thing time and time again?
I know there has been a whole discourse around this film where many are complaining that Wes should do something different visually to change things up. I’m not even commenting at all on that. He can keep his same pallet and style, but how about he just takes a swing on something really out there? Maybe something tonally different or a subject matter that differs from anything he has remotely done before.
This is all a windup to say the Phoenician Scheme is a totally fine movie. Nothing more nothing less. Most of his films since Grand Budapest Hotel have been lesser Wes films in my book (minus my beloved Asteroid City) & this one is no different.
I wasn’t a fan of vignettes in the French Dispatch & I really was bummed when a story I didn’t think would use that framing device (based on the marketing) heavily relied on the structure once again. Just feels like overall the film is missing a real heart & soul to invigorate the audience and propel the story forward. The plot also seems unnecessary complex and convoluted, even for a Wes Anderson movie,
My problem with vignettes will forever be that certain moments you never want to end actually do end about 2 minutes later. While the moments you wish never happened stay on screen for far too long. The easy example here is the scene with Cranston & Hanks playing basketball. I would have taken a whole movie centered around them.
Again, the film itself is perfectly fine and has plenty of hilarious gags throughout along with that signature Wes Anderson flair. Mia Threapleton & Michael Cera are perfect additions to his usual acting crew. Hope we see more of Mia going forward. She has such a demanding & striking presence, not all that different from her mom.
