New at the Browning
Directed by Wes Anderson
With Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera
Rated PG-13, 101 minutes
In English and French with English subtitles
Few directors in history have developed aesthetics so catching, so distinct, that a single frame shows their fingerprint. Wes Anderson is the current chairperson of that club, and he's leaving full palm prints in The Phoenician Scheme, which takes the peak artifice of Asteroid City on a globe-trotting world tour. Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) is a ruthless industrialist with a phenomenal art collection and a knack for not being whacked by assassins. Trying to close his biggest business deal yet in Phoenicia, he teams up with his rebellious daughter/novice Catholic sister (Mia Threapleton) and a corduroyed Norwegian entomologist (Michael Cera) to convince others to join his scheme.