A family business opportunity turns into a fight for survival in Paper Tiger, the upcoming crime drama starring Adam Driver, Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson. Written and directed by James Gray, the film sees two brothers dragged into a dangerous criminal underworld, with their families caught in the crossfire. The official trailer has arrived. Watch it above and get the details below.
Two Brothers, One Very Dangerous Business Deal
Set in 1986 New York, Paper Tiger follows Irwin Pearl (Teller), an engineer and family man who is offered what appears to be a lucrative opportunity by his brother Gary (Driver), a former NYPD officer turned private security adviser. The deal involves helping Russian businessmen bring industrial property along Brooklyn’s notoriously polluted Gowanus Canal up to environmental code, with the brothers hoping to make some serious money along the way. Unfortunately, their new business associates have ties to organised crime, and Irwin soon witnesses something that puts him squarely in their sights.
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“We had a problem down at the canal, and it’s led to some things,” Irwin tells his wife, Hester (Johansson), in the trailer. “I walked in on something they didn’t want me to see.”
Gary, however, isn’t nearly as concerned about the danger. “They’ll huff and puff, but they’re not gonna touch me,” he insists. Irwin sees things very differently. “What about me? They could touch me,” he responds, knowing that he has a wife and two children who could become targets. As the threats intensify, the brothers find themselves increasingly at odds over how to handle a situation that neither appears to have fully anticipated.
James Gray on the Personal Story Behind Paper Tiger
For Gray, whose previous films include We Own the Night, Ad Astra and Armageddon Time, the return to New York’s criminal underworld is also a return to some deeply personal territory. Speaking to Film Comment, the filmmaker discussed how his father’s criminal conviction and his mother’s death had influenced his earlier work, which was often mistaken for conventional crime cinema.
“I was trying to put the raw truth of my personal life into those movies,” Gray explained, describing crime fiction as his chosen vehicle for autobiography.
That family history is central to Paper Tiger. Johansson’s Hester was inspired by Gray’s late mother, while the brothers’ pursuit of financial security draws on his parents’ experiences and his concerns about economic inequality. Gray also discussed the way working-class families have gradually disappeared from mainstream entertainment, replaced by depictions of considerably wealthier Americans.
The film initially took shape as a potential follow-up to Armageddon Time, with Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong originally approached to reprise their roles as fictionalised versions of Gray’s parents. Scheduling conflicts eventually led him to rethink the project and cast Johansson and Teller instead.
In a separate interview with Vulture, Gray explained that he wanted to push the film further into suspense and take a more heightened approach to the material.
“I was trying to do something … pulpy is the wrong word; it’s something more, well, a little bit more operatic.”
Neon Is Mounting a Major Oscar Campaign
Paper Tiger premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it received a positive critical reception. At the time of writing, the film holds an impressive 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 53 reviews.
Distributor Neon is now preparing a substantial awards campaign. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company intends to give Gray’s latest film a full-fledged Oscar push, marking its first concerted awards campaign for one of the filmmaker’s features.
The distributor has also confirmed how it intends to position the film’s three biggest stars. Teller will be campaigned for Best Actor, with Driver competing for Best Supporting Actor and Johansson for Best Supporting Actress.
The film also reunites Driver and Johansson following their acclaimed performances in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story (2019), which earned both actors Academy Award nominations. Gray, meanwhile, has been a regular presence at major international festivals throughout his career, with several of his films, including The Immigrant, Two Lovers and Armageddon Time, having competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
When Is Paper Tiger Released?
Paper Tiger will open the 64th New York Film Festival on September 25 before receiving a limited US theatrical release on November 13. The film will expand nationwide on November 20.
In Australia, the film will be released in cinemas on January 21, 2027.
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