New films by James Gray, Noah Segan and Cristian Mungiu examine lives shaped by family ties, social pressures and the struggle to survive in worlds where personal choices carry a heavy price. Set in different environments, Paper Tiger, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York and Fjord approach these themes through crime, family conflict and cultural confrontation.
In Paper Tiger, James Gray takes audiences back to New York in 1986, following two brothers whose pursuit of the American Dream draws them into a dangerous encounter with the Russian mafia. Miles Teller plays Irwin Pearl, while Adam Driver portrays his older brother Gary, a charismatic but complicated figure whose affection for his family is intertwined with self-interest. Scarlett Johansson plays Gary’s wife, Hester.
The brothers’ lives take a dramatic turn after they witness illegal dumping in the Gowanus Canal, putting them in the path of organised crime. Against the backdrop of 1980s New York, Gray explores the fragile balance between loyalty, ambition and exploitation. Driver’s performance is a particular highlight, bringing emotional depth to a character whose charm often conceals a more calculating side. The film ultimately presents family as both a source of strength and a burden that can prove impossible to escape.
A different portrait of New York emerges in Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, starring John Turturro as Harry, an ageing pickpocket who appears to belong to a disappearing era. Operating without a smartphone and moving through the city’s less polished neighbourhoods, Harry is initially presented as a modern-day Robin Hood, using his stolen money to help others.
His closest associate is Benny, a pawnbroker played by Steve Buscemi, who buys much of the stolen merchandise. The film’s deliberately slow pace and nostalgic atmosphere evoke the New York of Martin Scorsese and Abel Ferrara, while recalling the grittier urban crime stories of the Safdie brothers.
But Harry’s apparently romantic existence gradually reveals its costs. When he targets the wrong person, his quiet routine turns into a struggle for survival. A difficult encounter with his estranged daughter further exposes the personal sacrifices behind his chosen way of life. What begins as a nostalgic portrait of an old-fashioned criminal becomes a much harsher story about isolation, class divisions and the consequences of living outside society’s rules.
Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, meanwhile, shifts the focus from New York’s criminal underworld to a cultural and ideological conflict in Norway. The Romanian director’s Palme d’Or-winning drama follows Mihai, played by Sebastian Stan, and his Norwegian wife Lisbet, portrayed by Renate Reinsve, who move with their five children from Bucharest to a small Norwegian community.
The devout evangelical family initially appears to settle into its new surroundings. However, tensions emerge between their strict religious upbringing and the more liberal values of the local community. The situation escalates when bruises are discovered on their teenage daughter Elia, prompting Norway’s child welfare services to investigate suspected abuse. All five children are eventually removed from the family home while the authorities examine the allegations.
The case develops into a wider confrontation over parental authority, religious conservatism and the limits of state intervention. Mungiu’s restrained filmmaking and naturalistic approach place the family at the centre of the drama, with particularly powerful performances from Stan and Reinsve. Yet the film has also drawn criticism for presenting Norwegian social services and liberal institutions in a way that some reviewers consider overly one-sided.
Based closely on the real-life Bodnariu family case of 2015, Fjord raises questions about how far the state should intervene in family life and whether supposedly progressive institutions can become as dogmatic as the beliefs they challenge. Its portrayal has prompted controversy in Norway and Romania, while bringing renewed attention to debates surrounding the country’s child welfare system.
Although the three films differ in setting and style, they share an interest in the tensions between individual freedom and the forces that shape people’s lives. Whether through criminal ambition, personal isolation or ideological conflict, each examines the price of belonging to a family and a society.
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