‘Paper Tiger’ Review: James Gray Delivers a Thriller Bursting with Danger … and Heart
James Gray's 'Paper Tiger' is a suspenseful crime thriller set in 1986 Queens, blending danger with deep family emotion. The film follows a family drawn into conflict with Russian mobsters after a construction job goes awry. Despite its tense sequences, the story emphasizes familial bonds and personal history.
- ▪The film stars Miles Teller, Scarlett Johansson, and Adrien Brody as a family entangled with Russian gangsters in 1986 New York.
- ▪'Paper Tiger' premiered in the Main Competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
- ▪The story is semi-autobiographical, drawing on James Gray's own family experiences growing up in Queens.
- ▪Gary, played by Adrien Brody, is a former cop with questionable current affiliations who believes the Russian mob is easily manipulated.
- ▪A nighttime visit to a polluted canal exposes Irwin and his sons to illegal activities, putting the family in grave danger.
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Home > Creative Content > Movies ‘Paper Tiger’ Review: James Gray Delivers a Thriller Bursting with Danger … and Heart Cannes 2026: Miles Teller, Scarlett Johansson and Adrien Brody star as family members who get tangled up with Russian gangsters Steve Pond May 16, 2026 @ 2:55 PM Share on Social Media Share on Facebook Share on X (formerly Twitter) Share on LinkedIn Share on Email "Paper Tiger" (Neon) James Gray knows how to mess with genre. His last film, 2022’s “Armageddon Time,” was a coming-of-age memoir, but a notably unsentimental entry is what is usually a sentimental genre. And his new one, “Paper Tiger,” has all the trappings of a crime thriller, but it flips the equation from four years ago: It’s a very sentimental entry in a typically unsentimental genre.
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