I love a good crime thriller, and when you bring together Miles Teller, Adam Driver, and Scarlett Johansson in a story about family, loyalty, and the Russian mob in 1980s New York, you have my attention.
Paper Tiger follows two brothers who find themselves caught up in the dangerous world of organized crime. As things begin to unravel, they are forced to figure out how far they are willing to go to protect their family. And that question becomes the heart of this film.
There are so many things I loved about this movie, so let’s get into it.
First, the 35mm cinematography. There is something about the way this film is shot that immediately pulls you into its world. The grit, the atmosphere, the look and feel of 1980s New York. It has this incredible Hitchcockian quality to the way the story unfolds. There is a tension that builds throughout, and the filmmaking really draws you into what is happening on screen.
James Gray does a remarkable job creating that world. It feels lived in, uncomfortable, and dangerous. You aren’t simply watching a crime story play out. You feel like you’re right there in the middle of it.
And then there is the story itself.
Yes, this is a crime thriller, but underneath all of that is a really beautiful and complicated story about two brothers. They want to have each other’s backs. They want to support one another. They want to protect their family. But there are also questions they don’t necessarily want to answer about each other.
That dynamic is what gives the film so much emotional weight. Family loyalty can be complicated, especially when the choices you’re making have consequences for everyone around you. The film does a wonderful job exploring those relationships while keeping the crime thriller elements moving.
Miles Teller and Adam Driver are terrific. They really are the emotional anchors of this film, and their performances give the relationship between these two brothers the depth it needs.
And then there’s Scarlett Johansson. Honestly, she makes this entire film. Johansson plays the wife of Teller’s character, Irwin, and I would be shocked if she doesn’t receive serious awards attention for this performance. I’m talking Best Supporting Actress territory. She leaves it all on the table.
Her portrayal of a woman, a wife, and a mother trying to hold her world and her family together is incredibly vulnerable. There is so much happening beneath the surface of her character, and Johansson brings all of those emotions to life in a way that is truly remarkable.
You feel the weight of what she’s carrying. You see the different sides of her, and there is an emotional complexity to her performance that stayed with me. This is one of those performances that deserves to be talked about.
If you love crime dramas, think The Godfather, think The Sopranos, and think about those stories where family, loyalty, power, and survival all become tangled together. This is absolutely a film you are going to want to see.
And what makes Paper Tiger so good is that it gives you all of that crime thriller tension while delivering some genuinely powerful emotional performances.
Paper Tiger opens in limited release November 13, with audiences able to catch it over Thanksgiving. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
