Set in 1986 New York, Paper Tiger follows Gary Pearl, a charismatic ex-cop, and his younger brother Irwin, a straight-arrow engineer, as they chase an opportunity that quickly entangles them with a ruthless Russian mob boss named Semion Bogoyavich. As the danger escalates and their family is threatened, the brothers' bond cracks under the weight of fear and the temptation to betray one another. The film is a tightly wound crime drama about brotherhood, ambition, and the cost of reaching for something just out of reach. Gray roots the thriller in deeply personal family stakes, making the tension feel as emotional as it is physical. It's a return to the gritty New York crime terrain that first established Gray as one of American cinema's most distinctive voices.
