There's something about the deadpan delivery and the clear-eyed manner that makes you sit up and take notice of Liesl, and even more of Mia Threapleton, who plays her in "The Phoenician Scheme." (And there's another thing, too obvious to ignore: Boy, does she ever resemble her mom, Kate Winslet.)

A vivid presence despite her dry-as-dust tone, Threapleton makes a splendid Andersonian debut here as half the father-daughter duo, along with Benicio Del Toro, that drives the director's latest creation. Their emerging relationship is what stands out amid the familiar Andersonian details: the picture-book aesthetic. The meticulous production design (down to those fascinating closing credits). The chapter cards. The "who's who" of Hollywood cameos. And most of all the intricate -- nay, elaborate; nay, labyrinthine -- plot.