Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Wis this powerful, heartfelt and disturbing new picture set in 1980s New York, James Gray he also evokes the spirit of Elia Kazan in the blue tragedy of fraternal loyalty and betrayal; a film about men and their fear of appearing weak and failing to protect their families. Paper Tiger has a familiar palette of Gray color: autumn evening afternoon ocher, red and purple. And there are its big scenes of family reunions, the presence of Russians in New York, and the powerful, multi-faceted NYPD: a mob, part trade union, part masonic clan whose membership status and benefits continue well after retirement.
Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller provide rich, intelligent performances at the center of the film: all three characters, in different ways, have hungry Springsteenian hearts. Teller is Irwin Pearl, a humble, working boy who is a qualified engineer in Queens, successful at his job but worried about paying for his young sons – Scott (Gavin Goudey) and Benjamin (Roman Engel) – college education. He is married to Hester, played by Johansson, sporting hair and glasses that make her look like one of the Golden Girls.
The Irwin boys idolize their handsome, ruthless uncle Gary, played by Driver: a recently divorced police officer setting up various businesses for the benefit of City Hall. One night, Gary arrives at the Irwin family home to offer him an irresistible money-making opportunity. Some Russian businessmen he knew owned the rights to operate a cleanup operation to remove decades of oil spills from the dirty Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. Gary says that the guys need qualified engineers to submit – through Gary’s new consulting company – a full report on what needs to be done, a document that will strengthen the relationship between the Russians and the city authorities. There is a $10,000 fee just for providing a true technical assessment.
These Russians may be careless and careless, says Gary wryly, before sitting them down, but they are “paper tigers”. Poor, naive Irwin is very happy with the easy wages he can give his children, and he is happy that his skills are needed by his older brother, and he eagerly takes his boys on a dangerous evening training trip to the Russian countryside. But to his horror, he discovers that these Russians and his slippery brother need his engineering skills like a fig leaf for their highly questionable mission. Gary is already in Russia for more than 10, a loan that he thinks the Pearl brothers’ donations will easily redeem, and he honestly believes that there is a lot of money for them both in the long run, as long as the stupid Irwin doesn’t give up.
In their own ways, Gary and Irwin believe in raising a family and working hard for the American dream: Gary’s divorce means that family responsibility is beyond him but he respects it in Irwin, and both men believe that Scott and Benjamin have what it takes to be the first middle generation. Gary thinks that what men of his generation can do is give them a financial foundation, have a small street smart business and not stick to the rules. As for Hester, she is the one who brings up her own children, but she is worried about the constant headaches – the causes, perhaps, show some of the ambition of the film. It’s a meaty drama with big and big scenes but it’s well thought out: the greatest work from Gray.
