Nov
13,
2026
By Sam Lawrence
Well, it turns out paper tigers still have very real claws.
This is the lesson moviegoers across the country will learn after seeing director James Gray’s new 20th-century crime drama, Paper Tiger.
The film stars Miles Teller as Irwin Pearl, a well-meaning father raising his two sons in 1980s New York alongside his wife, Hester, played by Scarlett Johansson. He lives quite modestly in comparison to his wealthy older brother Gary, played by Adam Driver, who spends his time partying and pursuing new business ventures. While Irwin focuses on putting food on the dinner table and bonding with his family, Gary is a single bachelor with an eye for profit. After Gary invites Irwin to join him in building a private consulting firm, the two brothers offer their services to a group of Russians running an oil business in the hopes of making quick money. But after Irwin takes his two sons, Ben and Scott, to visit the docks at night, he stumbles upon his new business partners illegally dumping oil into Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal, a historically polluted waterway. Irwin’s unfortunate timing places his family in the center of a plot by the Russian mob. Now, Gary must use his charm and connections to clear his younger brother’s name before the criminals extract their revenge. But as he soon learns, paper tigers don’t crumple easily.
The film employs many Hitchcockian elements throughout its 115-minute runtime, including suspenseful sequences, the use of shadows to build tension and chiaroscuro lighting: the stark contrast of light and dark elements to convey drama. One of the most intense scenes in the film occurs when members of the mafia break into the Pearl family home and leave a message for Irwin in the living room. As he tiptoes down the staircase, viewers will grip their seats waiting to see what happens.
Paper Tiger first premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation, according to Deadline. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Gray revealed filming lasted for only 31 days in the summer of 2025, but the heat and humidity made it feel like the most challenging shoot of his life. Those long summer days resulted in a film that feels truly authentic to New York, depicting the hustle and bustle of the city in stark contrast to the peaceful marshes on its outskirts. Though it’s a work of fiction, Paper Tiger is, in part, inspired by Gray’s upbringing in New York: his father had legal troubles and his mother suffered from medical complications. Still, he wanted Teller and Johansson to bring Irwin and Hester to life in their own unique ways, completely separate from his life experiences. What resulted from this decision are two deeply multidimensional protagonists who anchor the story and resonate with audiences.
Viewers first see Irwin as a comical father figure and impressionable younger brother who is intrigued by the allure of Gary’s new business venture. But as the film intensifies, Irwin develops thick skin and realizes that defending his family means standing up to his older brother and confronting the men who’ve tried to intimidate him. Hester’s character, on the other hand, remains consistently strong and unbreakable throughout the film, despite her growing health struggles.
It’s rare to watch a film that makes audiences laugh, cry, gasp and stand for applause all in one sitting. To that end, Paper Tiger is a rare film, and one worth seeing in the theater.
Paper Tiger is playing in select theaters nationwide today.
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