Director James Gray tried to call Scarlett Johansson on his cellphone so she could bask in the 7-minute standing ovation for “Paper Tiger” at the film’s Cannes premiere on Saturday night. But the star, who couldn’t be on hand in the South of France because she is busy filming “The Exorcist” reboot, didn’t pick up his FaceTime.
Gray shook his head in mock frustration and gestured at his phone as the call went to Johansson’s voicemail. She may not have made it to the big night, but her co-stars Miles Teller and Adam Driver, who play brothers who run afoul of the Russian mob in the tragic crime thriller, flanked a boisterous Gray. The director served as ringmaster after the credits rolled, gesturing to each of his leading men so they could get their own moment in the spotlight.
“Cinema needs you guys more than ever,” Gray earnestly told the crowd of studio executives, artists, and film fanatics. “Really, this is a very important time, and Cannes is so important for that reason, and you are so important for that reason.”
This year’s Cannes lacks any studio blockbusters, but “Paper Tiger” did manage to deliver some A-list sizzle to a festival lacking Hollywood talent. Teller and Driver walked the red carpet, signing autographs and posing for selfies with screaming fans.
Gray is a Cannes mainstay, with “Paper Tiger” being his sixth film to premiere on the Croisette following “Armageddon Time,” “The Immigrant,” “Two Lovers,” “We Own the Night” and “The Yards.” He was also part of the competition jury in 2019, when Isabelle Huppert served as president.
“It’s not my first time here,” Gray said, adding, “It’s actually number six. I will say that there’s much more gray now in the beard, not just the name, but the beard. And I have learned finally to appreciate it…it always moves me greatly to see you here in this theater where I have very many great memories and I love you all.”
“Paper Tiger” is Gray’s first film since 2022’s “Armageddon Time.” Neon, which has won the Palme d’Or for the past six years running, will release the film domestically. Set in 1986, the story follows two brothers, Irwin and Gary Pearl, whose get-rich scheme to help clean up the Gowanus Canal ends in disaster after Irwin (Teller), a nebbish family man, angers Russian mobsters by unwittingly witnessing their criminal activity. It falls to Gary (Driver), a former cop, to bail him out, but his efforts to make a deal only drag them deeper into a world of violence.
When the initial Cannes lineup was announced in early April, artistic director Thierry Fremaux admitted he was still courting “Paper Tiger” for competition. “It’s the James Gray who has never stopped being himself,” Frémaux told Variety, noting the project was “complicated to put together” and that there were “still some contractual issues to resolve.” By the end of April, the film was officially added to the competition.
Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman gave “Paper Tiger” a mixed review.
“‘Paper Tiger’ adds up on paper, and I suspect that Gray, a longtime critics’ darling, will get some of his best reviews for it,” he wrote. “The movie is engineered to be seen as ‘powerful.’ Right now, though, I’d say that he’s an ace director who’s still being undercut by the holes in his screenplays.”
