James Gray has a knack for using intimate family stories to explore big ideas—like humanity's cosmic insignificance in Ad Astra or the toxic myths of American ambition in Armageddon Time. His latest, Paper Tiger, premiering in competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, tries to do the same with a Reagan-era crime thriller. But despite a stellar cast led by Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller, the film never fully bares its claws.
Set in Queens, New York, during the 1980s, Paper Tiger follows Irwin (Teller), a hardworking Jewish family man living a quiet, honest life with his wife Hester (Johansson) and their two teenage sons. When Irwin's older brother Gary (Driver), a former NYPD inspector turned slick entrepreneur, proposes a business venture with some local Russians collecting waste oil, Irwin reluctantly agrees. But a late-night visit to the site with his sons exposes the illegal side of the operation, and the family finds itself targeted by a ruthless crime network. Gray fills the script with period-appropriate details—families striving for a better life, the lure of easy money, and the shadow of foreign villains—but the result is a thriller that never fully commits to its own tension.
The film's suspense peaks in a standout home invasion sequence where Irwin stands guard on a staircase, listening to Russian intruders whisper as they rearrange furniture downstairs. It's a brief, chilling moment that shows what Gray is capable of, but the rest of the movie never reaches that level of anxiety. The narrative follows a predictable path, wrapping up with a tidy ending that satisfies conventional expectations of right and wrong. What could have been a devastating tragedy about misplaced trust becomes a flat domestic drama with only light touches of larger societal commentary.
Gray's direction is competent, but much of the film consists of two people talking, and the camera does little to amplify the stakes. The script makes safe choices, avoiding the darker implications of the era that other films have tackled more boldly. For those looking for a deeper dive into Reagan-era family struggles, there are plenty of better options—like edge-of-your-seat thrillers that don't pull their punches.
Adam Driver delivers a dynamic performance as Gary, a hustler whose decorated NYPD career has bred a dangerous hubris. Driver plays him with understated bravado, keeping the character sympathetic even as he drags his family into disaster. Miles Teller is well-cast as the everyday American hero, but his role lacks the complexity to let him shine. Scarlett Johansson, as the central female presence, brings emotional weight—her horrified reactions ground the stakes—but her character is underserved by the script. The cast is capable of more exciting work, as seen in Netflix's Code 8 duology, which offers a more gripping dystopian thriller.
Paper Tiger is a perfectly fine crime drama—the kind you might watch with your parents on a Sunday night. But in a landscape of crime thrillers that push boundaries, like David Fincher's Se7en, it feels disappointingly safe. Gray and his leads are all capable of better, more daring filmmaking. At Cannes 2026, where bold visions compete for the Palme d'Or, Paper Tiger is a cautious entry that never fully reckons with the darkness it hints at.
