"With this muscular, heartfelt and sombre new picture set in 1980s New York, James Gray again resurrects the spirit of Elia Kazan in a blue-collar tragedy of fraternal loyalty and betrayal; a movie about men and their horror of appearing weak and failing to protect their families. Paper Tiger has that distinctive Gray colour palette: a perpetual late-afternoon autumn of subdued ochres, reds and browns."
"And there are his keynote family supper scenes, the characteristic presence of the Russian community in New York, and the potent, tribal codes of the NYPD: part mob, part trade union, part masonic clan whose membership responsibilities and perks go on well after retirement. Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller give weighted, intelligent performances at the film's centre: all three characters, in their different ways, have Springsteenian hungry hearts."
"Teller is Irwin Pearl, a modest, working-class guy who is a qualified engineer in Queens, doing well at his trade but still concerned about paying for his teen sons' Scott (Gavin Goudey) and Benjamin (Roman Engel) college education. He's married to Hester, played with forthright authority by Johansson, sporting frizzy hair and glasses that make her look like one of the Golden Girls."
"One night, Gary shows up at Irwin's family home to let him in on a money-making opportunity that can't fail. Some Russian businessmen of his acquaintance have gained the rights to run a cleanup operation removing decades' worth of oil sludge and spillage in the foul-smelling Gowanus canal in Brooklyn. Gary says that these guys need a qualified engineer to provide via Gary's new consultancy firm a full report of what needs to be done, a document that will bolster the Russians' relationship with the city authorities."
A 1980s New York tragedy follows fraternal loyalty and betrayal shaped by blue-collar codes. The story uses a subdued palette and recurring family supper scenes to frame relationships within the Russian community and the NYPD’s tribal culture. Irwin Pearl, a working-class Queens engineer, worries about funding his teen sons’ college education and relies on his marriage to Hester. His sons idolize their roguish uncle Gary, a recently divorced ex-cop who leverages connections at City Hall through new business ventures. Gary offers Irwin a seemingly certain money-making opportunity tied to Russian businessmen seeking rights to clean the Gowanus canal, requiring an engineering report to strengthen city relationships.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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