James Gray presents Paper Tiger at São Paulo Film Festival

Director James Gray presented his new film, ‘Paper Tiger’, at the 50th São Paulo International Film Festival. Set in 1980s Queens, the crime thriller follows two brothers, Gary (Adam Driver) and Irwin (Miles Teller), whose attempt to achieve the ‘American Dream’ through a consulting role for a Russian mafia group spirals out of control.

The story explores themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the difficulties of love within a hostile system. Gray noted that the film highlights the reality of women in the 1980s through the character of Linda Pearl (Scarlett Johansson), a matriarch who possesses significant knowledge but is excluded from patriarchal business decisions.

Inspired by the director's own upbringing and his mother, the film depicts a working-class family facing threats as organized crime expands its influence in the United States. Gray cited Alfred Hitchcock as a major influence on the film's portrayal of a limited and corrupt police force.