Actor Adam Driver was, not too long ago, the face of the Star Wars franchise. Driver played Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, which ran from 2015 to 2019. And, impressively, Driver earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor during that period, too, for his performance in Black Kkklansman.
In the years since Driver hung up his cape and lightsaber, he has had a prolific career, appearing in several movies a year. Driver has become no stranger to working with high profile directors during this period, either, having starred in films by Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, Francis Ford Coppola, and James Gray.
Gray is the latest director to have a film starring Driver release in theaters, via Paper Tiger. The crime drama movie follows two brothers, one of whom is played by Driver and the other by Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick, Fantastic Four), as their business aspirations are scuppered when they inadvertently anger the Russian mafia.
Paper Tiger, which currently sits at an 86% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, features the two brothers as they attempt to fend off the mafia’s aggressive advances. All of this leads to an action-packed finale, and one that changes the lives of the two brothers, and the entire family more broadly, forever.
Gary and Irwin’s Business Plan, Explained
Adam Driver plays Gary Pearl, a former cop in New York City who has since retired. Gary is portrayed as someone who is eccentric and flashy, having an expensive watch on his wrist and getting a five-star meal delivered right to his brother’s family’s house.
Miles Teller’s Irwin Pearl, meanwhile, is quite the opposite. He’s much less extroverted than his brother, and along with that, he’s also much more modest as well. His family lives in a middle-class home and live a middle-class life, but the same can’t be said for Gary, who earned a significant amount of money on various business ventures once he retired from the police force.
Gary then comes to Irwin with a business proposition. He says that there are Russian immigrants working along the Hudson River who must be careful to avoid breaking the various pollution laws in place, and that the two brothers could set up a business in which they help the company comply with the various regulations.
Irwin would be a big part of this, as he’s an engineer, and someone who has extensive knowledge of the field. Gary, meanwhile, would handle the logistical side of things, including taking on the bulk of the communication with the Russians, who he warns his brother about, calling them “paranoid.”
How Irwin Mistakenly Angered The Russian Mob
Not too long after, Irwin learns all too well just how paranoid the Russians that Gary warns him about are. Excited by the new opportunity presented to him, Irwin decides to take his two teenage sons to the group's place of business to show them where he’ll be working. While there, he notices construction equipment that’s sitting dangerously close to an electrical wire, so Irwin decides to go in and warn them about it.
This, unfortunately, is what ends up changing the lives of Gary and Irwin forever. The Russians aren't the "paper tiger" that Gary said they were, and instead, they take great offense at Irwin arriving on their property unannounced (and at night). They beat him and take his ID, and also warn him that they know where he and his family live.
Both Gary and Irwin believed up until this point that the Russians were legitimate business owners, but they now realize that their new partners are actually the mafia, with deep connections that run all the way back to some of the most powerful people in Moscow.
What Do The Russians Do In Response?
The Russian mafia, in response, do a variety of things to get under the skin of Gary, Irwin, and their family. The first thing was to trash Irwin's car and threaten his two sons, and this happened as their dad was being interrogated by the Russians inside their place of business.
Gary, confident that he can smooth things over, agrees to set up a meeting between everyone to clear the air. It’s at this meeting that the Russians demand tens of thousands of dollars in compensation because of Irwin’s invasion of their privacy. Gary accepts that they may have to pay the Russians off if they are to come away from this unscathed.
That, however, proves to be only the start of the terror that the Russian mob begin to inflict on the Pearl family. Now knowing where Irwin, his wife, and kids live, the Russians break into their house, destroy the living room and dining room, and take pictures of the family sleeping. They then lay out all of these pictures in the living room for Irwin to see.
The Russians begin following the family, sending veiled threats, and becoming more and more aggressive. Gary, in response, decides to return the favor, delivering a beating to several key mafia men in one of their home bases. This then escalates the situation drastically, as the Russian gang become even more angered in return.
How Gary Saves His Family
Image via NEONAfter this, Gary learns a scary truth — the Russians don’t really care about Irwin or what he did. In fact, they simply used his mistake as a means to get leverage on Gary. It’s Gary, with his connections in the world of business and in the police force, that the Russians really want. In particular, they desire for Gary to join their ranks and become loyal to them, and to do their bidding.
Gary realizes how serious this is and, as such, reaches out to some former police colleagues for help. However, he realizes at this moment that most of the cops he used to work with are now on the books of the mob. Not only that, but his former colleague explains that many of the police officers still working are unwilling to protect Gary from the mob because Gary had “bragged” about his anti-corruption stance, which they took offense to.
Gary soon realizes something even more daunting — the only way out for Irwin and his family is for Gary to sacrifice himself. Because of this, Gary gifts his car to Irwin and says that he’ll be leaving the country, potentially for an extended period of time. Gary then drives into the countryside, where he knows the Russian gang will be following him too.
Gary then makes his final stand in some tall cornfields next to the side of a country road. The climax takes place as the Russian forces slowly pour into the fields, with Gary on alert (and with a gun at the ready). Adam Driver's Gary manages to take down a few soldiers before being shot by a bullet, which ultimately proves to be fatal.
This then means that the Russians are now off Irwin’s back, as they never really cared about him anyway. However, Irwin also lost a brother in the process, but isn’t even aware of it, as Gary told him that he was heading out of the country, failing to disclose what he was really doing — sacrificing himself for his family.
Paper Tiger is out now in theaters.
English (US) ·