Cool Trailer Alert: Paper Tiger – A Gritty New Thriller With a Seriously Impressive Cast

This Looks Like One Heavy Film

There is something about a good crime thriller that still works. Give audiences a dangerous deal, a family with something to lose, a criminal underworld that doesn’t exactly believe in customer service, and a few characters making increasingly terrible decisions, and you’ve got the ingredients for a movie that can keep people glued to their seats. Paper Tiger, the new crime thriller from writer and director James Gray, looks like it could deliver exactly that.

The film stars the amazingly strong trio of Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, with the story taking place in Queens in 1986. Gray, whose previous films include The Yards, We Own the Night, Two Lovers and Ad Astra, returns to the crime-drama territory that has been a major part of his filmmaking career. Paper Tiger premiered in competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and has already generated considerable attention.

What the Film is About

At the center of the story are two brothers who become involved in what initially appears to be a promising business opportunity. The brothers are drawn into a dangerous scheme involving Russian organized crime, and what starts as an attempt to pursue the American Dream quickly turns into something far more sinister. Their decisions eventually put their family in danger and begin testing the loyalty and bond between the two brothers.

Adam Driver plays Gary Pearl, the more charismatic and connected of the brothers. Miles Teller plays Irwin Pearl, an engineer whose involvement in the business venture pulls him deeper into a world he may not fully understand. Scarlett Johansson plays Hester Pearl, bringing another important dimension to the family at the center of the story. That cast alone makes Paper Tiger worth putting on the radar.

Driver has become one of the most recognizable dramatic actors of his generation, while Johansson has demonstrated that she can move effortlessly between blockbuster action movies and much smaller, character-driven dramas. Teller, meanwhile, has continued to establish himself as a versatile leading man following films such as Whiplash, Top Gun: Maverick and The Offer. Putting the three together in a dark 1980s crime story is a pretty compelling proposition.

The Setting Matters

The movie also has a particularly interesting visual setting. Rather than presenting some glossy version of New York, Paper Tiger reportedly embraces the atmosphere of 1980s Queens, with the period setting becoming an important part of the film’s identity. The story reportedly revolves around a business venture connected to cleaning up the polluted Gowanus Canal, creating an unusual intersection between legitimate business, family ambition and organized crime. And this isn’t being presented as a simple shoot-’em-up gangster movie.

At its core, Paper Tiger appears to be about family, ambition, loyalty and the consequences of trying to get ahead. The criminal element provides the danger, but the relationship between the brothers appears to provide much of the emotional tension. As their situation deteriorates, the question becomes less about whether they can make money and more about whether their family can survive the consequences of their choices.

Early reviews have been encouraging. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists the movie in the crime, drama, mystery and thriller categories and shows a strong early critics’ score, with reviews highlighting the performances and the film’s tension. Screen Daily described it as a textured 1980s crime thriller and specifically praised Driver’s performance and the growing tension between the brothers.

That combination of a talented director, a major cast and a genuinely dark premise is what makes Paper Tiger stand out. It doesn’t appear to be relying on a superhero franchise, a decades-old intellectual property or the 47th installment of something audiences have already seen fourteen times. It is, remarkably, an original crime story. Civilization survives another day.

The film is also rated R for language and some violence and has a runtime of approximately 1 hour and 55 minutes. NEON is handling the North American release, with the movie scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 13, 2026.

For anyone who likes crime movies, psychological thrillers or tense family dramas, Paper Tiger looks like one to keep an eye on. With Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller sharing the screen and James Gray behind the camera, there is plenty of talent involved. More importantly, the premise gives them something substantial to work with. The trailer suggests a movie where the danger isn’t simply waiting around the corner. It is already inside the family, inside the business deal and inside the choices these characters have made. And that is usually where the best thrillers live.