Plot: Harry Lehman is an aging pickpocket who plies his trade with ever-diminishing returns in a drastically changed New York. Wallets stuffed with cash have been replaced by easily canceled credit cards, and Harry struggles to make ends meet as he cares for his disabled wife, Rosie. When he unwittingly purloins and fences a valuable USB stick, Harry finds himself in a race against time to return the loot or face the rage of a vengeful crime family.
Review: New York City has become a character unto itself for all sorts of films, but especially crime dramas. The movies of Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, and countless others have used the metropolitan bustle of Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs for everything from gangster tales to intimate indie dramas about street-level crime. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is a charmingly old-school ode to the crime films of the mid-twentieth century with an updated statement on the next generation growing into their own. Led by John Turturro in one of his best performances, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is an emotional tale of a man who finds himself outdated and running out of time that manages to give us a distinct glimpse of New York from a perspective not often seen in feature films.
The film opens with Harry Lehman (John Turturro) tracking a well-dressed, affable businessman before picking his pocket and making off with his watch. With little cash, Harry turns to his reliable fence, Ben (Steve Buscemi), only to learn that half of the guy’s things were fake or worthless. Harry and Ben reflect on how things have changed and the world doesn’t have as much reliance on cold, hard cash or expensive jewelry the way that they used to. They are relics of a bygone era. Harry makes do with petty crime in order to make ends meet and take care of his wife, Rosie (Karina Arroyave), who is in a vegetative state. Estranged from his daughter Kelly (Tatiana Maslany), Harry stumbles across Dylan (Will Price) one night and manages to steal his wallet and a duffel bag from his sports car. Finding a gun in the bag, Harry tosses it while keeping the cash and a USB drive. Finding out that the drive is a crypto wallet with a lot of value, Harry finds himself pursued by Dylan, who wants his property back or he will kill Rosie.
The crux of The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is less about the crime than it is about the idea of aging and becoming obsolete. John Turturro shares some scenes with Giancarlo Esposito, who plays Detective Alan Warren, a guy who’s had an adversarial but friendly relationship with Harry over the years. On a brief train ride, the two of them talk about getting older, retirement, and needing to deal with the craziness of this new generation. At the same time, Dylan and his friends experience life very differently as they pursue beverages that have gone viral on social media and look at their elders with disdain and contempt. When Dylan confronts Harry and demands his property back, he effectively delivers a death sentence; the film reaches a higher level of intensity in that moment than I expected. Dylan is not a frightening figure, but he does pose a mortal reminder that Harry no longer fits into this world. John Turturro is such a phenomenal actor and has shown such range between his turns in Severance and his countless memorable films. But The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is one of his most subtle and yet memorable films in a long time. Turturro barely raises his voice in the film, but moments of him dancing for his wife, caring for her medical needs, and even mentoring an up-and-coming young pickpocket he meets on the train are all powerful reminders of how strong an actor he is.
Using the Bronx, Queens, Chinatown, and Brooklyn as settings for most of the film, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York gives a much different angle on the big city than we usually see in crime dramas. There are no gunfights, car chases, or any of the expected things that you would see in a drama like this, but it still manages to really engage you on all levels. There are a few small performances from actors including John Gallagher Jr., Aida Turturro, Victoria Morales, and Jamie Lee Curtis, who all contribute to the realistic world that Harry Lehman lives in. The majority of the film serves as a showcase for John Turturro, who walks, takes the train, and explores the streets of New York City. Honestly, I probably would have watched this movie if it were John Turturro as himself going into various stores and just talking to the denizens of the Big Apple. But unlike some of his most memorable roles, Turturro is not affecting a different persona. He’s not trying to play up any quirky sensibilities. He is a criminal named Harry Lehman, more than just a guy who picks pockets.
Written and directed by Noah Segan, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is executive produced by Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman. Segan has acted for Johnson in all of his films to date and made his directorial debut with 2022’s Blood Relatives. Segan lends a nice realism to the story that doesn’t lean into the cliches associated with Gen Z as much as it lovingly reflects on the Baby Boomers beginning to pass the torch. There are many small moments in this movie that work beautifully, including an intensely edited final act that brings everything to a close. The entire cast is loaded with talent that any number of filmmakers would be envious of working with, and I am sure Segan’s connections to Rian Johnson helped. What helps make this movie work more than anything beyond Noah Segan’s great script and solid direction is John Turturro being John Turturro. There are many iconic New York-based actors that could have been in this film, but I am so impressed with Turturro’s performance that I just can’t stop thinking about it.
While not his feature debut, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York will definitely serve as Noah Segan’s calling card for future projects. Segan does not ape any of the stylistic tendencies that Ryan Johnson may have displayed in the various films the two of them worked on together, but he absolutely absorbed whatever magic that the Knives Out filmmaker had in getting great performances out of phenomenal talent. Jon Turturro is known for countless exceptional performances over his career, but The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is going to be counted amongst his best. A small film but not a minor one, this is a movie that surprised me and deserves to be seen by a much larger audience than likely will check it out when it hits theaters this weekend. Definitely one of the better movies of the year.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York opens in theaters on October 30th.
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