‘Paper Tiger’ Review: Adam Driver Gives a Career-Best Performance in James Gray’s Devastating Tragedy
James Gray's 'Paper Tiger' is a deeply personal and mythic exploration of the American Dream, centered on a working-class man's moral decline amid family pressures and economic disparity. Adam Driver delivers a career-best performance as a charismatic yet troubled ex-cop whose influence exacerbates his brother's growing desperation. The film blends classical tragedy with intimate family drama, reflecting Gray's ongoing cinematic reckoning with his own past.
- ▪Adam Driver plays Gary, a divorced ex-police officer whose lavish lifestyle intensifies his brother Irwin's feelings of inadequacy.
- ▪Miles Teller stars as Irwin Pearl, a meek engineer in 1986 Queens grappling with familial expectations and economic anxiety.
- ▪Scarlett Johansson portrays Irwin's wife Hester, who struggles with the mounting tensions in their family life.
- ▪The film draws thematic inspiration from Aeschylus and is stylistically linked to Gray’s earlier works like 'We Own the Night' and 'Armageddon Time'.
- ▪'Paper Tiger' functions as both a domestic tragedy and a critique of 1980s-era American capitalism and social aspiration.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
It’s the final weekend of summer in 1986, upwardly aspirant Jewish families across Queens are still crowding around country club pools to make sure they get their annual money’s worth, and — in a little less than two months — the Mets are going to win the World Series for what might be the last time in team history. But nebbishy engineer Irwin Pearl (Miles Teller) doesn’t know that yet. He doesn’t know that this is his golden age. He doesn’t know that this is as good as it’s ever going to get. What Irwin knows is that greed is good.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at IndieWire.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from IndieWire
