Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Paywalls and Archiving

  • One commenter shares a redirect service (unbloq.us) that auto-sends paywalled links to the latest archive; others note it’s an incremental but convenient shortcut compared with manual archive.today use.
  • Some ask why not post the archive link directly; creator clarifies they’re also promoting the tool.
  • Another points out you can already prepend archive.is/ to URLs for similar behavior.

Has Wes Anderson Become Repetitive?

  • Several feel Anderson’s films repeat the same mood, quirks, color palette, and character types, with later work described as “soulless,” “photo shoots,” or “AI-generated Wes Anderson.”
  • Early films (Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, Bottle Rocket, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom) are widely praised for balancing style with warmth, narrative focus, and more human characters.
  • Many argue newer films over-prioritize aesthetic; actors feel like clockwork or paper dolls, with emotional range flattened or “monotone.”

Defense of Anderson’s Evolution and Aesthetic

  • Others counter that his aesthetic is the novel format: a distinctive auteur voice comparable to strong styles in painting or literature.
  • They see meaningful evolution in structure, metafiction, and emotional themes rather than in surface visuals—especially in The French Dispatch and Asteroid City.
  • Asteroid City is cited as emotionally raw and grief-driven, with one specific scene highlighted as among his most exposed; some say critics are missing this under the deadpan delivery.
  • A minority celebrates his movement toward near-silent, visually driven storytelling, seeing actors and dialogue as secondary to visual composition.

Desire for Risk and Range

  • Some want him to “push out of his comfort zone” into different genres (horror, tragedy, road trip, etc.) or radically different tones, comparing him to other auteurs who reinvented themselves over time.
  • Others argue such overhauls are harder in film due to financing and audience expectations; consistent style can itself be a legitimate, evolving artistic path.

Reactions to The Phoenician Scheme

  • One viewer calls it better than Tenenbaums—more emotional, funnier, and more serious—placing it just below their top Anderson films.
  • Another dismisses “emotional” as overstated.
  • A separate thread complains the New Yorker review heavily spoils the film.