No preaching here
James Gray is out here making it clear: he’s not trying to hit us with a lecture. At the New York Film Festival premiere of his new crime drama Paper Tiger, the director explained that while every film has some political DNA, he’s not trying to turn the theater into a debate class. "Art is not Sunday school," Gray said, noting that he prefers movies that rely on subtext rather than trying to teach the audience a lesson.
A weirdly timed title
The title Paper Tiger has some unexpected energy given how often the term has popped up in news cycles recently. President Donald J. Trump has used the phrase—which historically describes something that looks intimidating but is actually weak—to call out Russia during the war in Ukraine. Gray admits it’s "weirdly flattering" but totally accidental, as he wrote the script long before Trump started using the phrase to roast his political opponents.
Inside the film
Paper Tiger follows Gary (Adam Driver), a police officer who drags his brother Irwin (Miles Teller) into a shady business deal that puts them directly in the crosshairs of the Russian mafia. The drama hits even harder when Irwin’s wife, Hester (Scarlett Johansson), receives a sudden medical diagnosis. The title refers to Gary dismissing the mob as all talk, only to realize he’s way out of his depth.
Originally, the project was going to be a sequel to Gray’s film Armageddon Time, focused on his mother’s battle with glioblastoma. Instead, the story shifted to focus on the grit of a system that looks manageable until it absolutely wrecks your life. When asked if the label applied to Trump himself during the premiere, Gray kept it classy and stayed silent.
Why it matters
In a media landscape where every piece of art is scrutinized for its political stance, Gray is doubling down on the idea that cinema should be about the nuance of the human condition. Plus, the accidental parallels between his screenplay and current international tensions make the movie's title feel like a total plot twist.
