The Phoenician Scheme was another Wes Anderson delight. This time he applied his style to a father/daughter (Benicio del Toro and Mia Threapleton) story, but they are still on an adventure meeting an eclectic cast of characters.
Anderson’s 4:3 frame stuns in $K. The depth of the frame is more pronounced than the scope and it looks like IMAX, frankly.
He’s all about heightened colors so there’s not as much of the deep black at which 4K excels, but we get plenty of those so it’s a nice whimsical change of pace. Even the black and white scenes, while striking and vivid, are bright.
There is a shot looking through a telescope where the void contrasts with what’s in the circle, and when Zsa Zsa (del Toro) takes Leisl (Threapleton) to the safe. And I suppose all the interstitial scenes tallying the progress of the scheme are dark.
Dolby Atmos sound has surround effects for the big moments like the plane crash. Mostly, it’s a steady hum of Alexandre Desplat’s score and Anderson’s dialogue patter.
Behind the scenes features total 15 minutes. Seeing the sets behind the scenes offers almost a side by side comparison of how Anderson’s framing creates magic. Anderson only speaks in audio interviews. I respect that. Not every soundbite needs to be a talking head to get the point across.