There are worse ways to be introduced, when you’re about to unveil your new film as the Opening Night selection of the New York Film Festival, than as “one of the great living American filmmakers.” But that’s exactly what Artistic Director Dennis Lim said as he brought Paper Tiger director to the stage at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on Friday evening.
Gray has a long history with the festival, having closed it with The Lost City of Z and marked its anniversary with a special screening of Armageddon Time. But still, this felt different — as Gray himself noted in his moving introductory remarks, reflecting on growing up a few miles away from the Upper West Side. He remembered, after telling his parents he wanted to become a movie director, their skeptical reply: “How are you ever going to do that?” Gray then looked to the full house inside the theater and said, visibly taken aback: “Well, here I am.”
The general feelings around Paper Tiger feel distinct from Gray’s past films as well. Although a consistent critical darling, the Queens native hasn’t been able to break into the Oscar race in his career thus far, and at this point seems overdue — certainly, it wasn’t hard to think so hearing Lim’s comments framing the relaunch of Paper Tiger, which has not screened publicly since its world premiere in Cannes. The film had been widely acclaimed on the Croisette, and despite the jury overlooking the drama — as has, frustratingly, been a pattern for Gray’s movies at the festival over decades — it was being primed to roar with its fall launch by distributor Neon.
Indeed, this one has arrived with the bells and whistles that typically elude the rollout of a Gray movie; its mix of bold classical filmmaking and rich memoiristic undertones is ideal for placing the movie in the context of his career. In his introduction, Lim spoke about how difficult it is to make personal, independent American films in the current climate; earlier this month, he called Paper Tiger “miraculous” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for just that reason. In a season dominated by international directors and blockbuster hits, that framing stands out.
Paper Tiger stars Miles Teller and Adam Driver as Irwin and Gary Pearl, brothers in 1986 Queens, caught in a scheme that puts their family’s lives at risk. Gray’s tight screenplay weaves these crime-thriller bones into textured family drama, with the plot coming to hinge on Irwin’s wife, Hester (Scarlett Johansson), considering how best to protect her sons and ensure their future, while also contending with her own personal crisis.
Shown on a 35mm print at Lincoln Center, this North American premiere was warmly received, with the core cast all on hand. As THR reported last week, Teller will campaign as a lead in the film — Irwin’s POV opens and closes the film — with past Oscar nominees Driver and Johansson going supporting. The best-actor race may be too competitive for Teller to make much of a dent, but the transformational work of Driver and Johansson, who’ve earned raves for Paper Tiger, could gain traction (and help push the film as well) coming off of the NYFF momentum.
“We were on such a small set…and also it was extremely hot, and when you have a group of actors hanging around with everybody on top of each other — honestly, that’s a labor of love. You do it because you love to do it,” Johansson said in the post-screening Q&A. “You end up hanging out and talking and sharing stories and feeling closer…. You have to survive the day, and it’s hard making movies, and it’s very hard making movies [like this].”
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