With three previous films in the Cannes competition beginning with Moonrise Kingdom (2012), followed by 2011’s The French Dispatch (read ★★ review) and 2023’s Asteroid City (read ★ review), Wes Anderson has a safe home in France. Production on The Phoenician Scheme took place back in March of last year – the espionage black comedy features tons of folks in Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, and Hope Davis. It’s about a wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.
Our Cannes Critics Panel’s enthusiasm has dwindled over the years. Moonrise Kingdom score was a solid 3.1, The French Dispatch landed a 3.2, while Asteroid City was almost at the bottom of its class with 2.4. Perhaps suffering a collective Wes Anderson burnout, 17 of our 20 critics saw what is currently the worst rated film of the competition with an average score of 2.0.
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