James Gray Directs Adam Driver in Mob Tragedy

In James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” Miles Teller plays Irwin Pearl as family life in 1986 Queens collides with his brother Gary’s Russian mob plans, pulling Irwin and his sons into a dangerous turf war. Adam Driver delivers a standout performance as a flashy brothe

Upwardly aspirant Jewish families are still packing Queens country club pools during the final weekend of summer in 1986. while the Mets are about to chase a World Series berth in a little less than two months.. Inside that same rhythm of “almost” and “not yet. ” engineer Irwin Pearl (Miles Teller) has no idea it’s his golden age—he only knows greed is good. the income gap is widening at an unprecedented rate. and economic mobility is slowing to a crawl.

Then his older brother Gary (Adam Driver) starts to shrink his world further.. Divorced and working as an ex-police officer turned city showman. Gary moves through the metropolis like a majestic bird in a blue Mercedes. and his presence brings pressure from every direction: Irwin’s mother-in-law wants the family moved to Great Neck. his older teenage son wants an expensive 18th birthday party. and Irwin’s wife Hester (Scarlett Johansson) wants fewer things to worry about.

It’s against that pressure—half aspiration. half dread—that James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” plays like a Jewish-American tragedy sealed “in a teapot. ” both mythic and intimate.. The film opens with an ancient line from Aeschylus’s most famous text: “Let there be wealth without tears; enough for the wise man who will ask no further.” From there. Gray keeps drawing the story back to his own previous work. beginning with marshland imagery that mirrors the end of “We Own the Night.” The reviewer describes how a project that was first conceived as a direct sequel to 2022’s “Armageddon Time” ends up pointing back to Gray’s earlier films—using familiar material to process a highly specific experience.

“Paper Tiger” is framed as multiple kinds of film at once: a parable about the American Dream. a breathless thriller involving a working-class schmuck mixed up with the Russian mafiya. and an open-ended question tied to Miles Teller’s career.. But the review insists its core sits deeper. portraying “how family is. and has always been. the ultimate devil’s bargain. ” a strength and a cross “to bear. ” and the reason risky choices can still feel worth it.

What shapes the movie—more than any label—is how Gary moves through those dilemmas.. Adam Driver’s performance is described as career-best. stretching across “flash. menace. and pure sincerity. ” while his 1980s showboat persona shows affection by offering to share in what looks like success.. In a living-room arrival after months of radio silence. Gary brings a fully catered feast from Peter Luger’s Steak House and slides back into the family space as local celebrity.. Irwin’s sons marvel at the gun Gary still keeps holstered around his ankle. and Hester looks across the kitchen table imagining a shinier life she might have had if she’d chosen differently.

Irwin, however, doesn’t want those fears spoken aloud.. Miles Teller’s performance is described as carrying the “wizened humility” of a second-generation Jewish immigrant who recognizes the sacrifices made by a late father-in-law.. Even if Irwin can see his brother’s confidence is “an empty promise in a tailored suit. ” being smart isn’t the same as seeing clearly—especially once Gary starts selling the next step.

Gary lures Irwin into the basement to explain the reason for his visit: a new business venture is seeping into the Gowanus Canal and needs a “sharp engineer.” The review says Gary doesn’t explicitly tell Irwin the venture is the Russian mob. but that he doesn’t have to—Irwin’s ignorance is part of the setup.. Irwin sketches diagrams for “bald and scary men straight out of central casting” and takes home a healthy paycheck to his family.. While “Paper Tiger” is said not to buck mafia stereotypes. the film also emphasizes ruthlessness to underline how far Irwin is out of his depth.

The catastrophe starts when Irwin takes the job seriously enough to bring his sons to scope out the canal one night.. They witness Russians illegally dumping their waste into the water. and the men connected to the operation don’t like what they’ve seen.. After a stomach-churning stick-up—described as twisting the reviewer’s “queasy horror of a repressed memory”—Gary is told to fix the problem.. The terms are explicit in the review: Gary is given a week to make things go away.

The story’s momentum then widens into a tangle of secrets and consequences.. Irwin and his sons end up in the crosshairs of a turf war they are comically ill-prepared to survive.. Hester—kept in the dark “for her own protection. ” as described—finds herself in a separate crucible. while she chooses to keep what she’s facing secret from her husband for similar reasons.

The reviewer points to Scarlett Johansson’s performance as too limpid to be mistaken for caricature. becoming “more hollowed out and heartsick” each scene. until it takes on a void-like power.. Meanwhile. Gray’s script is depicted as heading toward ruin with “fatalistic velocity. ” as intentions—imperfect. mixed. and incomplete—get stitched into a road that leads to collapse.

Even with thriller ingredients and several standout sequences—including a “nightmarish home invasion sequence” that transposes the film’s title into shadowplay. and a climactic shoutout tied back to the rest of Gray’s work—the review frames “Paper Tiger” as small and slightly underfunded. with outsized impact credited to micro-details between characters.. Those details include beepers and TaB cans. plus 35mm cinematography by Joaquín Baca-Asay that the reviewer credits with helping deliver ’80s New York as time travel.

The central emotional punch. the review argues. isn’t simply that mob involvement tears brothers apart—it’s that it also brings them together.. The reviewer writes that there isn’t much time for fun. but it’s “never lost” that Gary and Irwin spend the most time together in years. “maybe even since they were kids.” In one pointed moment. Gary says. “We’ve never played in the dirt. ” even as he lies to Irwin about how everything connected to the Gowanus deal is “above board.” As things spiral. the film increasingly exposes the bond that allowed this damage in the first place. and the reviewer says Gray maps that dynamic onto Irwin’s sons.

In the end. “Paper Tiger” is portrayed as a household gripped by a self-inflicted event that chokes the life out of its lungs.. Irwin’s line lands as a final cut in the review: “We already had everything.” The last beat. according to the reviewer. is the tragedy of new longing—this time. even after the ruin. it leaves him “begging for more.”

The pattern running through the film’s setup and escalation is consistent: a pressure-filled family moment in Queens leads to a basement business pitch tied to the Gowanus Canal. Irwin’s sons witness illegal dumping. and then the problem is met with violence and a one-week demand placed on Gary—before the secrets around what Hester is dealing with widen the crisis further.

Grade: A

“Paper Tiger” premiered in Competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. NEON will release it in theaters later this year.

James Gray Paper Tiger Adam Driver Miles Teller Scarlett Johansson Cannes Film Festival 2026 NEON Russian mob thriller