Wes World at HOME
Tom Grieve, Cinema EditorBook now
Wes World
Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.
Take a trip back into the world of Wes Anderson this May as HOME present a series of the acclaimed auteur’s most beloved films alongside his latest movie, The Phoenician Scheme. From Wednesday 21 May, HOME have lined up six screenings to accompany the release of The Phoenician Scheme on Friday 23 May.
The new film features a score of Anderson alumni amongst its ensemble cast, with Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johannsson and Benedict Cumberbatch joining the likes of Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright and Bryan Cranston. The period piece promises a tale of espionage as a wealthy tycoon (Benicio del Toro) and his only daughter (Mia Threapleton), who happens to be a nun and the heir to his estate, become the target for scheming rivals, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.
Audiences will be familiar with Anderson’s potent blend of whimsy and pathos, sprawling casts and inimitable (despite all efforts) style. Juxtaposing strained family dynamics with violent conflict, on first glance The Phoenician Scheme looks like familiar territory for the filmmaker who frequently explores deceptively serious subject matter, masked by a signature visual sensibility that includes geometric framing, muted pastels and meticulous production design.
We’re excited to see how the new film plays, but equally thrilling is HOME’s line-up of Anderson’s previous films, which start with 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited, which screens along with short Hotel Chevalier, on Wednesday 21 May. The tale of bickering brothers on a train journey across India is followed by 2011’s charming Moonrise Kingdom (Tue 27 May), in which Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward shine amongst a cast full of established stars, as two 12-years-olds in love and on the run in ’60s New England.
Rounding out the Wes-trospective, are probably Anderson’s most beloved films as 1998’s Rushmore (Wed 11 Jun) is joined by 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums (Sat 7 Jun)
Led by none other than George Clooney, there’s a family-friendly afternoon slot for Anderson’s 2009 stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox on Saturday 31 May. Slightly overlooked on its original release, we’re eager to get another chance to see 2021’s The French Dispatch (Wed 4 Jun) which features Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody and Timothée Chalamet in a star-studded ode to journalism, set in the fictional Gallic town of Blasé-sur-Ennui.
Rounding out the Wes-trospective, are probably Anderson’s most beloved films as 1998’s Rushmore (Wed 11 Jun) is joined by 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums (Sat 7 Jun). Stories of lost children, squandered genius and untreated melancholy, these lightning-witted comedies feature what would become the core of Anderson’s company of actors, and set the standard against which the director will always be measured.
