Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: PAPER TIGER [Cannes Film Festival - Cannes, France]
When James Gray makes a film, it definitely is of a time and place. With his latest film “Paper Tiger” [Competition] he returns in certain ways to his origins specifically with his connotations to the Russian Mafia. At the center of this is two brothers, one a family man (Miles Teller) and the other, the older former NYPD fixer per se: Gary (Adam Driver). Teller is the focal point and he disappears into the role but his concept dwells in the idea of slice of life. He just wants to make his money honestly and try to provide for his family: two sons and his wife Hester (played by Scarlett Johansson). What is interesting is the correlation to a character Johansson played on SNL. This is obviously dramatic but the intonations are the same. The great thing Gray does that many writer/directors don’t do today is also leave storylines open at the end. The great thing about "Paper Tiger" is how it ends letting the audience figure out how to respond to what is happening.
Driver is good as Gary but the role is not tailor made to him as so many of his roles are. You could easily see other actors playing the role yet it is a legacy role for him (especially in the third act) and a final hunt piece is extremely cinematic. The best moments of acting though are from Johansson suffering in silence in a way, specifically a scene with her mom which is heartbreaking but still rings authentic. Teller is of course the unsung hero of the piece but his character is truly there to feed the story. Gray also knows his locations back and forth so these are the parts of New York that are less seen even in indie filmmaking. Fellow NY Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky is good at that angle as well but Gray is better and never quite loses sight of it. "Paper Tiger" is a more adult film in a way than "Armageddon Time" which was also at Cannes but with Neon behind him here, the film is might gain more traction considering the star power even though many of the performances are understated. “Paper Tiger” is a better film from a more mature filmmaker that still has an edge. That said, it is not quite a transcendent a masterpiece. Gray still has that in him but it is not quite there yet. However, as a package of story performance and environment, "Paper Tiger" is still quite good. B+
By Tim Wassberg
