This film is filled with stars, but the true star is Wes Anderson, the writer-director, whose filmmaking style is always at the forefront of pretty much all of his productions over the past 20 years. Anderson shot this film on actual celluloid 35 mm stock. His aspect ratio is such that it's close to that traditional Academy ratio that's almost square instead of widescreen, which is the current standard. His films are throwbacks, mostly period pieces, hearkening back or if not directly set in the 1940's, 50's or 60's. His films are old school. He makes them on sound stages on sets that look like sets, filled with items or other things that reinforce the artifice of it all. The way he shoots each scene is as if Anderson wants you to think you're looking into a dollhouse, a life-size dollhouse. The way his characters move or interact in his space is reminiscent of puppets or action figures being stiffly shuffled around. Anderson milks as much comedy out of his dollhouse situations, which get increasingly ridiculous as it goes along. As Anderson is want to do, the film is basically a parade of quirky characters, each one quirkier than the last.
Benicio Del Toro (21 Grams and Traffic) stars as Zsa-zsa Korda, a European businessman who is very wealthy, but it seems as if he amassed his fortune through shady or illegal practices. As such, there are many people or many groups who do not like him. Some want to take him down or even go as far as killing him. Korda has in fact survived several assassination attempts. He's constantly traveling by way of his own private plane, so a couple of the assassination attempts have been sabotaging his plane in some way, shape or form. Korda has a plan that involves some kind of building or construction in the area known as Phoenicia, which was historically the land now encompassing Lebanon and Syria.
Mia Threapleton (Scoop and A Little Chaos) co-stars as Liesl, a nun who is also the daughter to Korda. After Korda's most recent assassination attempt, he decides to change his will and have Liesl inherit his fortune and all of his business dealings. As such, he invites her along with him to watch and to learn how he conducts his business, so that she can take it over. She's a nun who is very committed to her faith and she doesn't agree with his shady and illegal business dealings. For example, he's in favor of slave labor, which she is not. The film could have played more with this idea of how he conducts business butting against her morals and faith, but not really.
She more or less tags along from scene to scene, watching him meet with various investors whom Korda wants to give more money to help him with his plans. He goes and has meetings with five different people in five different locations. Korda has to get them to agree to give him money, to fill a gap that he says that has been created due to changing markets. He already has deals with all of them, so it becomes more about him having to alter those deals and get them to shell out more. Each person has their own quirk, which Anderson depicts. One person is good at basketball. Another is very particular about not having terrorists shoot at his ceiling. One is the captain of his own ship and can donate blood at the drop of a hat. Another might be a murderer, but has a supply of other people's blood, allegedly. All of these people are meant to be weird and oddballs on the surface or even underneath who all speak in the typical Anderson affect with intentionally stilted dialogue.
Michael Cera (Barbie and Superbad) also co-stars as Bjørn, a Norwegian scientist who has a special interest in bugs and insects. He's also the tutor that Korda hires to teach his assortment of biological and adopted sons. He starts out as just another of this film's oddball characters. Later, he's supposed to become something else and something more. Yet, I don't totally get the point of this character. He's hired to be the tutor for Korda's sons, but when Korda and Liesl hit the road and start flying around to all these different places for all these meetings, Bjørn tags along. Ostensibly, Korda wants him there as an assistant, but functionally Korda has no need for an assistant and any duties therein could be handled by Liesl. He's mainly there if only for the joke of seeing Cera do a Nordic accent.
Otherwise, this film feels as if it's about the relationship between Korda and Liesl. They start out estranged. In fact, Liesl asks Korda if he's the one who killed her mother. There's essentially this murder mystery out there about the truth behind the death of Liesl's mom. She chooses to believe his denial and she forgives Korda for being absent from her life for years. This journey that they do together is meant to show how they become more bonded. Del Toro is such a great actor that he can convey emotions and can even invoke sympathy from what is a corrupt or manipulative man who seems like he mostly exploits people, even his kids. Threapleton's character is so affectless or one note. Even when gun violence breaks out, she claims to be upset or scared, but that's the most we get from her. Otherwise, she remains rather flat a character.
There are a lot of guest stars here. From Tom Hanks to Scarlet Johansson, from Willem Dafoe to Bill Murray, we get scenes with each of these A-list actors who have worked with Anderson before and clearly enjoy his mode of working and how he crafts his films. Most don't make that much of an impact. They are simply window dressing here in this narrative. Anderson does employ Riz Ahmed, Richard Ayoade and Jeffrey Wright in roles in which I wish we got more of them. Based on who their characters are and how they are as performers, I would have appreciated more insight or simply more antics with them.
Rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, some sexual material, nude images and smoking.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 41 mins.
In theaters.