If you've seen ads for The Phoenician Scheme, the new dark comedy from quirky auteur director Wes Anderson, you might have seen someone dressed as a novice nun. There's a reason for that, and a story behind it.
Ever since auditing a Literary Catholicism class taught by one of my fellow Holy Cross priests, I’ve been a devotee of Anderson.
My priest-friend, Fr. Charles Gordon, C.S.C., had us watch Anderson’s debut film, Bottlerocket, as representative of a work that contained Catholic themes, even though there was nary a mention of Catholicism in the entire movie.
The Phoenician Scheme -- directed by Anderson and co-written by him, with frequent collaborator Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford Coppola -- marks a more overt treatment of the Faith, essentially a film of discernment and betterment of one’s vocation.
Benicio del Toro plays a bad man in his role of wealthy arms dealer and industrialist Zsa Zsa Korda. Korda ruthlessly protects his business interests, using any resource at his disposal.
Dodging the latest in a string plane-saboteur attacks, he plans for the succession of his hard-fought-for empire. Enter his eldest (of 10) children, daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton). The one catch is that Liesl is discerning a vocation to a religious community. She’s mid-way through a novitiate year.
Now enter Anderson’s true brilliance, given his renown for meticulous production design, we see the same attention to detail effort to this single Catholic concept of “novitiate.”
As precise as definitions are in the Catholic world, “novitiate” takes on a few definite forms. It can refer to the individual (novice), the physical place of discernment, and the period of discernment. Anderson uses all three variations in his characterization, setting and the length of time depicted in the story.
Liesl is a novice nun -- and an exceptionally good one at that. She exhibits a no-nonsense piety after having come under the wing of her shifty father, Zsa Zsa. Prayer and sanctity guide her decision making through the story.
Zsa Zsa holds no qualms sequestering his nine other children (all sons) in a barracks-like dormitory. Liesl advocates successfully for her siblings. Lonely dinners of two now multiply to visually resemble a Last Supper painting of the Apostles.
Discernment for the young novice will prove complicated, though. Zsa Zsa hires a certain man named Bjorn (Michael Cera) to attend his finances. Nothing physical happens between Liesl and Bjorn, but one can’t deny the unspoken romantic chemistry between the two.
We get a sense Liesl will excel in either vocation of habited nun or wife and mother. It’s the discernment of two positive paths for life that drive the emotional arc of the film.
The three main characters traverse the fictitious territory of Phoenicia, shoring up Zsa Zsa’s land holdings and construction projects.
Liesl writes letters back and forth to her Mother Superior (Hope Davis), as it’s clear she misses the traditional support of her fellow sisters and the physical confines of the novitiate property. The Mother Superior grants tremendous latitude in allowing part of Liesl’s discernment to take place off-site, in this mystical place of Phoenicia.
In fact, at least in my religious order, a month-long “winter placement” is permitted, with a temporary location designated as the novitiate. I spent a lovely month at a parish in Austin, Texas, nice respite from our novitiate property in Colorado.
It's through this Phoenician nation-trotting that Liesl continues to excel. She keeps up her life of prayer abroad, shines as a good influence of the increasingly less corrupt Zsa Zsa, and grows closer emotionally to the otherwise socially awkward Bjorn.
“Novitiate” also refers to the trial period for a novice thinking about a more permanent life in a religious community.
In The Phoenician Scheme, “trial period” forms the verbal trope throughout the film. Liesl works through her trial period of a year with her religious community. Zsa Zsa refers to his month-long adventure with his estranged daughter as a “trial” period. Liesl adopts the same language.
Even if she opts out of the sister community, she won’t necessarily rush into marriage —a “trial period” of courtship with Bjorn will be required. I won’t disclose what path Liesl eventually chooses, but can happily say a final shot shows her spiritually settled and joyful.
It's good to remember that the point of a period of discernment means that the final outcome is not yet decided. The ultimate answer might be "yes," "no," "maybe later" ... often there is no "right" answer, just an answer that is right for the person discerning, at this moment in his or her life.
Other characters benefit from being around Liesl during this period of trial and adventure. They’re better off vocationally and morally for having bought into the Phoenician, or should I say, “novitiate” scheme.
Warning: The Phoenician Scheme may have worthy elements, but it's not for the whole family. It's rated PG-13, for violent content, bloody images, some sexual material, nude images, and smoking throughout.
Image: Focus Features
Click here to visit Father Vince Kuna’s IMDB page.
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