Wes Andersen films really only exist on a continuum. You can’t really think about them in isolation, because they’re so in conversation with one another, with the aesthetics of the filmmaker, with the borrowing of an ensemble cast that moves from set to set, and the sparse, deadpan delivery that typifies the vibe, which is almost a parody of itself at this point.
Which is just to say, that I have a hard time answering the question, Did you like Phoenician Scheme? so much as, Was TPS more satisfyingly queer than Asteroid City? Like, I have a metrosexual identity and I wear glasses, so I am going to watch your movie, Wes. That’s not enough for me to go on for a review, though. Did it have a less predatory vibe than The French Dispatch? Did women have more than a token role as in The Grand Budapest? Were the kids more savage in TPS or in Moonlight Kingdom? Were there more dogs than in Isle of Dogs? Right? Like those are questions that are more manageable, because the plots of these movies, especially in the more recent films from this decade (Asteroid City and the absolutely dicey French Dispatch) are so structured but also so contrived. They are films that take big swings, refuse to dumb themselves down, films that often go for spectacle over substance, and lean harder and harder into cameos as the years drum on–something like Black Mirror syndrome.
Of the last decade of films Anderson has produced, TPS feels more mature and developed than others. The films are often given their most pungent flavor from their lead protagonist, who exemplifies the desired notes and tone of the overall film–the self-confident, wizened Frances McDormand of FD, the self-confident, wizened Emma Roberts of MK, the crisp visciousness of Ralph Fiennes coupled with two young counterparts in Ronan and Revolori. Benicio del Toro has such depth and command over his silent buffoonery. It’s hard to imagine someone who could do it better. Mia Threapleton does a good job serving as his counterweight and forging her own story through her physicality and her poise.
The plot itself is kind of hard to follow and sort of meanders from set piece to set piece in forced jolts, but there are moments of brilliance throughout, just not necessarily in ways that might distinguish this movie from its peers this year. Like, is this worth seeing if you’re choosing between it and Sinners? But definitely if you’re doing a Wes Anderson watch party, you can add this high to the queue.
