#TIFF26: “THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK” REVIEW

Review by David Baldwin

Harry (John Turturro) is an old-school pickpocket working the streets and subways in New York City. He sells the wares to his long time pawnbroker friend Ben (Steve Buscemi) and then heads home to take care of his ailing wife Rosie (Karina Arroyave). One evening he steals a bag from a souped up car and unbeknownst to him, it belongs to Dylan (Will Price), a young member of one of New York’s prominent crime families. And they want the bag’s contents back before the end of the day – contents Harry already sold or got rid of.

I have a smile on my face just thinking of THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK, the latest from Rian Johnson protege Noah Segan. Despite taking place in contemporary times, the film feels like it was plucked out of the 1970s in its look, feel and general vibe. It has a vibrant jazz heavy score that serenades through every second of the lean 88-minute running time and a frantic, thrilling pace that rarely lets up for air. I would be hesitant to compare it to Uncut Gems since Segan is trying to emulate the style of conspiracy thrillers that you would have found the likes of Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, and Al Pacino running around in their formative years, but that is the kind of sandbox Segan sticks Turturro in here. I kind of wish the ending was a little tighter and cleaner.

And for the most part, the brilliant character actor thrives, commanding each and every scene he appears in. He gives each interaction a quiet, longing intimacy and is just as funny as he is devastating. Turturro has always been best remembered as playing wildly over-the-topcharacters, but his turn here as Harry might be his strongest and most memorable yet. Supporting turns from Buscemi, Price and Giancarlo Esposito are all rock solid, yet they all pale in comparison to Canada’s own Tatiana Maslany, who plays Harry’s estranged daughter Kelly. She is absolutely ferocious in only two scenes, taking hold of every ounce of emotion she can and blasting it out on-screen. She scorches the earth, drops the mic and never looks back.

THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORKscreens at TIFF ‘26:

Wed. Sept 16 at 5:30 PM at Roy Thomson Hall