When you watch a Wes Anderson film, you can expect a somewhat obtuse story, marked by a distant parental figure, witty dialogue, quirky criminals and arresting visuals. Some are hits – like “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “The Darjeeling Limited,” “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” & “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – others miss the mark – like “Isle of Dogs” and “Asteroid City.”

Featuring the tagline – “The story of a family and a family business” – “The Phoenician Scheme” falls in the latter category.

It’s a bizarre espionage comedy revolving around Anatole ‘Zsa-zsa’ Korda  (Benicio Del Toro), a ruthless 1950s European industrialist who – having recently survived a sixth assassination attempt –  is trying to heal his relationship with his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who blames him for her mother’s death and is preparing to take vows as a Catholic nun.

Collaborating with screenwriter Roman Coppola, Anderson has said that part of the highly mannered, exploring-capitalism concept was inspired by his late Lebanese father-in-law Fouad Malouf – to whom the picture is dedicated.

As the elusive plot unfolds, Zsa-zsa retrieves shoeboxes containing blueprints for complex public works projects in Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia. Key players involved in this scheme are Bjorn Lund (Michael Cera), a Norwegian entomologist, along with Phoenician Crown Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed) and basketball-playing brothers Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston).

Plus there’s Zsa-zsa’s cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), his duplicitous brother Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch), American shipping tycoon Marty (Jeffrey Wright) and other eccentric characters played by F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Willem Dafoe, Hope Davis, Rupert Friend, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Bill Murray as God.

Clever production design – marked by fixated symmetry – is a key component thanks to Adam Stockhausen, who borrowed authentic Renoir and Magritte masterpieces, duly registered by cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel.

FYI: 24-year-old Mia Threapleton is Kate Winslet’s real-life daughter and Zsa-zsa’s name is probably derived from Hungarian femme fatale Zsa-Zsa Gabor and the film-making Korda brothers: Alexander, Vincent & Zoltan.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Phoenician Scheme” is a forgettable, star-studded, idiosyncratic 6, playing in theaters.

Feel-good films are few and far-between these days, so discovering “Nonnas” was an unexpected delight. “Nonnas” was inspired by the true story of Jody Scaravella who, after the death of his mother, opened a restaurant called Enoteca Maria. 

Always captivated by watching his Italian mother and grandmother (‘nonna’)  in the kitchen, the words of comfort that touched inconsolable Joey (Vince Vaughn) the most were: “You need to feed your grief. It’s your only way through.”

Which explains why….A middle-aged M.T.A. mechanic living in Brooklyn, Joey knew nothing about opening and running a restaurant when he impulsively bought the run-down Staten Island property in 2007 and recruited four elderly ‘nonnas’ to cook authentic, traditional Italian dishes.

Passionate about preserving their cultural heritage as part of their legacy, Roberta (Lorraine Bracco) a prickly Sicilian, perpetually bickers with sassy Antonella (Brenda Vaccaro), whose family came from Bologna and whose daughter Olivia (Linda Cardellini) Joey dated years ago. 

After leaving the convent, former nun Teresa (Talia Shire) is looking to reinvent her life, and beautician/breast cancer survivor Gia (Susan Sarandon) loves baking pastries. Perpetually underappreciated, all four are supportive of one another and eager to go to work, embarking on this new adventure, proving that expertise has no age limit.

So – undaunted by a series of obstacles – like finances, building inspection permits and lack of customers – Joey relentlessly pursues his dream, assisted by his best friend Bruno (Joe Manganiello) and his wife Stella (Drea de Matteo).

Campbell Scott delivers a memorable cameo as an elusive food critic. And you can glimpse the ‘real’ Scaravella in the crowded dining room sequence with his ‘real’ pal Bruno.

Scripted by Liz Maccie and directed by her husband Stephen Chbosky, it’s an intergenerational testament to temerity and tenacity, since Enoteca Maria is still thriving almost two decades later and ‘capuzzelle’ (stuffed lamb’s head) remains on the menu.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Nonnas” is a nostalgic, compassionate 7, streaming on Netflix.

Catch up with Susan Granger’s latest reviews here:

• “Your Friends and Neighbors” and “La Palma”
• “Last Breath” and “Sirens”
• “Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning” and “Death of a Unicorn”
• “The Studio” and “The Four Seasons”

Susan Granger

^{_{Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.}}