James Gray has spent two decades making films the industry admires and then undercuts. Harvey Weinstein buried The Immigrant. Fox recut Ad Astra against his wishes, prompting Gray to publicly disown the final cut. With Paper Tiger, distributed by Neon, that pattern appears to be breaking.
A new trailer for the film arrived today as Neon confirmed it will open the New York Film Festival on Friday, September 25, screened in 35mm across all opening night presentations. The film holds 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 77 on Metacritic. According to those tracking the fall awards season, this marks the first time Gray has received a fully coordinated distributor push on any of his features.
The film is set in 1986 Queens. Adam Driver plays Gary, an ex-cop whose certainty in his own abilities draws his brother Irwin (Miles Teller) into a scheme involving the Russian mob. Scarlett Johansson plays Irwin's wife. The $15 million production required 24 executive producers to reach the screen. It premiered at Cannes with a reported ten-minute standing ovation.
Driver's performance is the focal point of the early awards conversation. Teller and Johansson round out the core ensemble in a story Gray has described as loosely drawn from his own family's history in New York.
Paper Tiger opens in limited release on November 13.