Critic Reviews

It goes without saying, but the film dazzles with its trompe-l’oeil-like worldbuilding, which inhabits the fairy tale reality of Anderson’s mind without ever giving over to the wayward indulgence of dream logic.

His tender, witty, wondrous The Phoenician Scheme is the most Andersonian Anderson film to date – but then again, they all are, and that’s the fun of them.

In the end, The Phoenician Scheme has a warm and beating heart.

The stylistic thrills of “The Phoenician Scheme” are inseparable from its turbulent, violent physical action, and it is here that the film proves most surprising and most original: its linear narrative lays bare Anderson’s cinephile obsessions.

[Anderson's] managed to build yet another dazzler, a shrine to his own ambition and craft. And while it sometimes feels a bit drafty in the corners, the accomplishment itself is plenty.

It’s wiser, and it has the looser silliness that comes with middle age—but it’s looking up at those imposing father figures, tycoons or no, with awe and fear all the same.

Del Toro hasn’t had a role this juicy in ages, and he’s captivating at all times.

This isn’t just an aesthetic exercise. It’s a sandblasted fable about meaning and memory. The Phoenician Scheme doesn’t ask you to love it. It dares you to look closer. And for those who do, the reward is quietly spectacular.

It’s a film that’s filled with so many wonderful moments that it’s a joy to behold, and even at its darkest it unfolds with a sense of radical frivolity.

Though the plot might feel a bit overly complicated, given the level of Serious Business being discussed in serious tones by these characters, it never drowns out the key emotional connection. There’s nothing seismic here, just a colorful, enjoyable yarn by one of the best cinematic confectioners around. One with some real heart to it.