Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller face the Russian mafia in 1980s New York. They are competing for the Palme d’Or.
Up until now, we had only seen stolen photos from the set of “Paper Tiger,” which was shot last summer in New Jersey. Just a few days before its presentation at the Cannes Film Festival (on Saturday, May 16), its distributors (SND in France, Neon in the United States) have finally unveiled the first official image of the film, featuring Adam Driver and Miles Teller as two brothers, alongside Scarlett Johansson.
The official synopsis details a vintage mafia plot, confirming the return of James Gray from “Little Odessa” and “The Yards,” his first two feature films that explore family and crime stories in the popular New York where the filmmaker, of Russian-Jewish origin, grew up.
Synopsis: “New York, Queens, 1986. Two brothers, completely different from each other, unite for a dubious business linked to the Russian mafia. But what was supposed to be an opportunity becomes a nightmare, putting their family, integrity, and brotherly bond at risk.”
“We saw James Gray’s film, which is a wonderful film – a very James Gray, very indie film. It’s the James Gray of ‘Little Odessa,’ the one who has never stopped being himself,” declared Thierry Fremaux, the general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival, when the film’s presence in the competition was still uncertain.
James Gray also wrote the screenplay for “Paper Tiger.” He entrusted the cinematography to Joaquin Baca-Asay, who had previously worked on “We Own the Night” and “Two Lovers,” his last two film credits.
Lastly, the Cannes Film Festival program revealed the film’s duration (1h55), which does not yet have a release date.
