Paper Tiger

Courtesy of Neon

dir. James Gray | NEON | Nov 13 limited, Nov 20 wide

Gray's new film is a New York crime drama about two brothers caught between the old guard of organized crime and the new one. Adam Driver plays an ex-cop who sets up what looks like a legitimate deal with Russian businessmen. Miles Teller is his engineer brother, the innocent one, and he plays that awkward, naive father very well. Scarlett Johansson is a worried mother who holds a secret. Driver gives one of his best performances. The film is well shot and has some seriously tense stretches. It's less a statement than a really good crime drama about men trying to protect their kids from a world they helped let in. If you want a crime drama, you won't do much better this year.