The first trailer for James Gray’s Paper Tiger has arrived, offering a tense first look at the filmmaker’s return to New York for a crime drama about two brothers whose pursuit of the American Dream takes them into the orbit of the Russian mafia. Adam Driver, Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson lead the cast.

Set in Queens in 1986, the film follows brothers Gary Pearl (Driver) and Irwin Pearl (Teller), whose lives take sharply different turns as they attempt to build secure futures for themselves and their families. Gary is a former police officer, while Irwin is an engineer trying to provide for his wife Hester, played by Johansson, and their children. Their circumstances change when Irwin becomes involved in a seemingly lucrative business arrangement that brings the family into contact with the Russian mob.

The trailer suggests that the deal quickly becomes a trap, with threats closing in around the brothers as their family is dragged into a world of organised crime, violence and corruption.

Paper Tiger marks Gray’s return to the New York milieu that has shaped much of his filmography. The filmmaker, whose credits include Little Odessa, The Yards and We Own the Night, has described the film as being informed by his own family history. The story also continues his interest in working-class New York families caught between economic ambition and forces beyond their control.

The film premiered in competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a reported 10-minute standing ovation. It will open this year’s New York Film Festival, which runs from September 25 to October 12, before its theatrical release.

The cast reunites Driver and Johansson for the first time since Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, while Teller joins them as the film’s second central brother. Christopher Spelman composed the score, with Joaquín Baca-Asay serving as cinematographer.

NEON will release Paper Tiger in US cinemas on November 13, 2026. International distribution is yet to be announced.

Published - August 11, 2026 12:11 pm IST