James Gray Doesn't “Want to Preach” Politics in His Movies, Sets David Lean-Style Epic After 'Paper Tiger'

While at the New York Film Festival with "Paper Tiger," James Gray told Deadline that he'll "probably" step away from the autobiographical mode of that film and "Armageddon Time." He also hinted at a return to the kind of sweeping, outward-looking, David Lean-inspired filmmaking he last attempted with "The Lost City of Z," his 2016 adaptation of David Grann's book.

"I really loved the kind of expansiveness" Gray said, “I was anxious to just break the mold completely for what I was doing and to do an adaptation, to try my best at a kind of David Lean thing. I may well do that again. In fact, on the next one, I may well do it.”

Don't expect the next film, which shoots next year, to lecture you either. Gray says he doesn't "want to preach" about politics.

"All movies are political in one way or another, but I like movies that exist with subtext," Gray tells Variety. "I don't want to preach to you. That's a polemic. That's for debate class. The reason we can watch some of those beautiful Hollywood movies from 1940 and still find them moving is because they weren't trying to teach us a lesson. Not Sunday school. Art is not Sunday school."

That's refreshing to hear right now. "Paper Tiger" deals with class, corporate power and the rotten side of the American Dream, but Gray works those themes into a crime story about two brothers who get mixed up with the Russian mob instead of spelling them out. That's what he has always done.

At NYFF, the response has been much like it was at Cannes: established critics have mostly embraced it, while bloggers have been more split. Gray's old-school style tends to do that. It either wins you over or keeps you at arm's length. I've embraced most of his films, because they're the kind Hollywood has largely left behind for more modern styles of filmmaking.

Gray, 57, has a loyal following and is admired for a classically influenced style that recalls cinema's golden eras. He has never quite been a mainstream favorite, but he has earned steady critical praise, especially from French critics, and that has kept an ambitious, emotionally rich career going. The Queens native's filmography is highlighted by "Two Lovers," arguably his finest work, and "The Lost City of Z," where a rare, haunting beauty seeps into every frame. His other notable films include "The Yards," "We Own the Night," "The Immigrant," "Ad Astra" and "Armageddon Time."

"Paper Tiger" opens in theaters November 13 via Neon. If you like Gray, this is your kind of jam.