'The Only Living Pickpocket in New York' Review
Release Date: 10/30/26 [Cinemas]
Genre: Crime. Drama. Thriller.
MPAA: Rated R.
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics.
The Verdict: A Must-See
We sometimes take the great actors for granted. It’s only natural--if someone is great all of the time, it’s never really a headline when they are once again great in a new project. But if you don’t stop to appreciate that skill, they become an accepted, slightly overlooked part of the fabric of movie history. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, a light, entertaining drama by writer/director Noah Segan, gives us a chance to stop and appreciate John Turturro for his years of service to the movie world. Segan gives him a great platform with an old-fashioned, entertaining New York City caper.
Harry Lehman (Turturro) is an old-school hustler in a world where the new school reigns supreme. For the last 4-5 decades, he’s been slithering in and out of the subways, bumping people and taking their belongings. The scores have been getting smaller and smaller. Early in the movie, Mark, a finance bro in a high-priced suit, is the type of guy who never is caught dead riding on the subway these days. When Harry brings the cashless wallet, and Fugazi watch he boosted off the bro to pawn shop operator Ben (Steve Buscemi), he only leaves with $150 to show for it. That’s not enough to pay for the care that his catatonic wife Rosie (Karina Arroyave) needs on a day-to-day basis. He could look for higher-priced targets, but you get the sense he’s built a moral code over the years, not touching the credit and debit cards he steals.
Harry treats the hustle like his day job, to the point that law enforcement barely bothers him anymore. Detective Warren (a typically great Giancarlo Esposito) corners him a few times, but only to go through the same playing cards of the same perpetrators that they’ve been asking about since the 80s. He even has a retro card of Harry, and the two share a nice chuckle about a time when the stakes were higher. Their scenes are great examples of the movie's warmth and a wistfulness that mirrors its lead character. Despite budget and location limitations, this version of NY still feels vibrant because the story and its people stay grounded.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York builds toward a sense of urgency, like a breezier version of Spike Lee’s 25th Hour, as a career criminal has one day to make it all better, save his loved ones, and mend whatever fences he can. The danger starts when he targets Dylan (Will Price), a douchey mid-20s nepo baby with a classic car and a bad attitude. He deserves to be targeted, but Harry accidentally takes something far more valuable than he can imagine: a crypto key belonging to an organized crime organization. Dylan threatens Rosie’s safety, giving Harry a short window to get the card back from his buyers.
Segan’s approach to this ticking clock is more nostalgic than you might expect, since this isn't a thriller in any sense. It has beats of a heist movie, all of which pay off beautifully in the film’s final 20-30 minutes. But first and foremost, this is a solid character study about a man out of time, both literally and figuratively. It packs a lot of character development into less than 90 minutes, for better or worse, as Segan sometimes relies on clichéd set-ups one too many times. Mostly, it all works because he’s got one of our great actors guiding the way.
The first two-thirds of Turturro’s performance is what you might expect: charm and veteran leadership, helping the filmmaker's inexperience by doing the job with ease. But then, in the third act, The Only Living Pickpocket challenges him to dig a little deeper. He has a few extended interactions with notable actors, whose appearances the movie treats like surprises, that really bring out a vulnerable side of him he rarely gets to show. It’s a terrifically multifaceted performance, and is the primary reason to see the film.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York has a bit of a “little movie that could” quality that makes it easy to root for and enjoy. It has modest ambitions and fulfills them well, which is easier said than done. Like its protagonist, the film has an old-school quality that makes it feel like it would’ve fit right at home in the 70s and 80s, which, in a way, makes it timeless.
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