I have a complex and sometimes annoying relationship with the films of writer/director Wes Anderson. I’ve enjoyed his work occasionally and he certainly has an enthusiastic fanbase, but also his approach to storytelling and overall aesthetic has always struck me as cold and distancing. His films are meticulously detailed – the production and costume design and the cinematography are so finely crafted and so punishingly precise in their design, but when we get to characters and story, there is often a problem. His characters never look or act like actual human beings and it feels like there is a distinctly twee and cutesy sensibility that he’s consciously trying to convey every time in his films and I find that grating. I think his last film I enjoyed was The Grand Budapest Hotel, and that was well over a decade ago. Today, I’m going to be talking about his most recent film, The Phoenician Scheme, which is premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Once again, I found myself with a lot to admire in the film’s design, but emotionally detached from the proceedings as a whole.

The Phoenician Scheme follows the ultra-wealthy businessman Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), who has recently survived yet another assassination attempt from a shadowy figure intent on ruining him. He appoints his only daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who is about to become a nun, as the sole heir to his estate. He starts the process of embarking on a new business venture or money making scheme and is immediately targeted by a slew of potential assassins, sending the pair on a journey where they must outrun a bunch of bad guys.

Fans of Wes Anderson’s let’s-call-them contributions to cinema will likely be thrilled and delighted by The Phoenician Scheme. But for me, it was yet another example of Anderson’s whole thing not really working for me. His script, another collaboration with Roman Coppola, keeps throwing everything at the viewer and figuring something would hit you the right way eventually. And despite the breathless pace of the narrative, I was mainly bored most of the time. The monotone voices these characters speak in and their expressionless faces are very much aligned with what Anderson’s characters have always been, and it’s just gotten a bit old for me. And there is an audience who eats this stuff up, and if they go into this movie enjoying the whole experience, I say good for them. But it’s not for me.

We have a lot of returning players from the Wes Anderson repertory cast, but as far as new additions to films go, we have Mia Threapleton (Kate Winslet’s daughter) as one of our leads here, and she’s quite good and definitely fits the Wes Anderson vibe. Michael Cera also plays a pivotal role, and it’s surprising he has never been in an Anderson film before, considering what a perfect fit he is for Anderson’s whole thing. Riz Ahmed also makes his Anderson debut, and it’s also surprising he hasn’t been in one before. Returning from previous Anderson films, we have Benicio del Toro, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, Charlotte Gainsbourg, F. Murray Abraham and Willem Dafoe popping up for small roles, and you get the impression most of these actors only showed up to set for a day or two.

Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, who has previously done a lot of work for the Coen Brothers and Tim Burton, shot this, marking his first collaboration with Anderson. And I was surprised to discover this, because The Phoenician Scheme is shot and edited like every Anderson movie I’ve seen up until now. Production designer Adam Stockhausen and costume designer Milena Canonero and composer Alexandre Desplat reunite with the filmmaker and you get the idea these people have such a strong connection to Anderson’s overall aesthetics and sensibilities, making the technical aspects of this film all they need to be. This film is gorgeous from top to bottom and it’s always very exciting to look at, but that’s not enough to make up for where it falls short narratively.

The biggest problem here is I’m not sure exactly what The Phoenician Scheme is trying to say about the world around it. Is this Anderson’s parable about the dangers of obscene wealth? It feels like that’s not exactly uncharted territory for him. Is it a story about paranoia or a story about the importance of family? Again, I feel like he’s done these stories before. Whatever this is, it doesn’t amount to very much emotionally as a viewer. I’m thrilled for the leagues of Wes Anderson fans who will love every moment of The Phoenician Scheme, but the filmmaker continues to hold this viewer at an emotional distance and I didn’t leave the film having felt anything. Wes Anderson is absolutely just making films for himself at this point, and seemingly is not trying to lure in new fans anymore. I’ve disliked Anderson’s last several films but I still hold out hope that day will come where his whole thing makes sense to me again. But today is not that day. The Phoenician Scheme is more of what you’d expect from this filmmaker, and if you’re a fan, I hope you have a better time than I did.