Sneak Preview: Paper Tiger with James Gray in person

Dir. James Gray. 2026, 115 mins. U.S. DCP. With Adam Driver, Scarlett Johnansson, Miles Teller, Gavin Goudey, Roman Engel. Recreating a finely rendered—and personally remembered—New York of the mid 1980s, James Gray has constructed a classical moral drama of tragic proportions that is among his greatest achievements. Equal parts tender and sinister, the film stars Adam Driver as Gary Pearl, a former NYC police officer who tries to help his middle-class Queens family man brother Irving (a tremendous Miles Teller) make some extra money for wife and teenage boys by looping him in on a “sure thing” deal with some local Russians working the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. Of course, all doesn’t go as planned, and the film charts the mounting, fearful consequences of this get-rich-quick scheme. A deeply felt tale of loyalty and sacrifice, Paper Tiger features expressive widescreen photography and sensationally moving performances from Driver, Teller, and Johansson, who’s mesmerizing as Irving’s wife Hester, clinging to terrible secrets of her own.

This is a free preview screening, courtesy of NEON. Reservations will open soon with priority given to MoMI members.