THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK
(The Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF) runs September 10-20 and HtN has boots on the ground covering all the best indie films they have to offer. Check out Chris Reeds’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York movie review from the fest! Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
In his latest film, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, writer/director Noah Segan crafts an alternately tense and rambling thriller with a delightfully lived-in quality, animated by sharp performances from its talented ensemble. The stakes are highest when the chips are down, and the narrative landscape shifts quickly as tensions rise. Even a lifelong loser deserves to win sometimes. Or lose again.
John Turturro (The Room Next Door) plays Harry, the titular criminal. He’s a thief with an honor code; well, at any rate he’s sort of a nice guy, tipping his wife’s caretaker despite his protestations that it’s not necessary. If he only robs rich jerks, then who are we to judge?
Unfortunately, he picks the wrong mark. After an opening sequence where we watch him ply his trade, visit his local pawnshop in the Bronx—owned by Benny (Steve Buscemi, Nancy), who is both friend and fence—and pick up his infirm wife from daycare, the movie pivots to the main plot. Unhappy with the day’s slim pickings, Harry spots a new victim. That would be the cocksure young Dylan (Will Price, After the Hunt), driving a souped-up vintage car that attracts Harry’s attention.
Sadly, what starts out as a clever heist soon proves a mistake, as Dylan and his friends are “connected” (i.e., the scions of a crime family). Being much more tech-savvy than either Harry or Benny, these guys know how to track a man down. Regrettably for all involved, Harry has disposed of what he stole, unaware of what he had.
For the rest of the story, Harry tries to get it back. Will he do it on his own or turn for help to the man who once put him in jail, Detective Warren (Giancarlo Esposito, MaXXXine), with whom he now has an easy rapport? However he handles it, he can’t walk away. Not this time.
Segan keeps the many narrative threads in carefully managed play, mixing gentle humor with the adrenaline-fueled drama. The result is a thoroughly satisfying ride, with New York City and its diverse neighborhoods a central character. Life and death are very much on the line, but that doesn’t mean we can’t laugh along the way.
The melancholy ending feels well-earned, even if it veers a little too close to something maudlin. At least we have Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once) show up to lend these final moments a sardonic twist. Earlier, Tatiana Maslany (The Monkey) elevated her own scene, as well. In short, most elements come together in an entertaining and moving whole. Watch and enjoy, but hold onto your wallet.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
