In his film The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, writer and director Noah Segan tries to deal with a quietly moving question: what becomes of an old-school thief when the world stops using cash? The film, produced by Rian Johnson, Segan's long-time collaborator, functions as both a tense crime thriller with a countdown element and as a nostalgic character study set in a constantly changing metropolis. Central to the film is an incredible performance by John Turturro, who plays Harry Lehman, a skilled criminal whose entire career is made effectively obsolete by the rise of cryptocurrency, contactless payments, and credit cards that can be easily cancelled.
Having mastered tricks of the trade that are on a par with those of professional stage magicians, he sees the "lift" as its own kind of art. Yet in present-day New York City, traditional crime is going through a severe crisis. Harry's actual physical hauls are becoming fewer and fewer; the wallets he steals generally do not contain paper money, and the luxury watches and jewellery that he does manage to steal no longer have their former value. When Harry takes the stolen goods to his long-time contact and dealer Ben, portrayed by Steve Buscemi, Ben tells him the hard truth that most of the physical items are just worthless junk. Since he cannot afford the low amounts being paid, he is in a difficult position. At home he is the only person looking after his wife Rosie, played by Karina Arroyave, who is in a vegetative state for reasons that are not specified. In order to keep up with Rosie's care he urgently needs a large sum of money. At the same time, his involvement in crime has caused him to be cut off from his daughter Kelly, played by Tatiana Maslany, whom he no longer sees.
Because he desperately wants a life-changing sum of money, Harry focuses on Dylan, who is played by Will Price, a confident young man with links to a powerful crime family. Harry succeeds in stealing a duffel bag from Dylan, the contents of which include a weapon, a large sum of cash, a luxury watch, and a USB stick that functions as a cryptocurrency key. He then sells the valuable drive. The theft causes a highly intense reaction. When he realizes that his crypto key has been lost, Dylan storms around the city in an attempt to find the thief. Once he has located Harry, Dylan sets a harsh deadline: Harry has to find the USB drive and return it by 4:00 PM on the same day or else Dylan will kill Rosie. Dylan stresses the stark truth of crossing him: “You know the consequences of stealing from a family like mine. There's no coming back from this.” Since he knows that Dylan intends to kill him no matter whether the drive is returned, Harry begins a frantic and high-risk trip through the subways, trains, and districts of New York to recover the USB stick and guarantee the safety of his family before the time expires.
"The Only Living Pickpocket in New York" combines two contrasting narrative tones. It acts as a fast-moving, excitement-filled race against time, advanced by a series of events that take Harry through Chinatown, Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. At the same time, it is also a thoughtful and melancholy character study. When the film reaches its third act, Segan makes a clear shift from crime thriller mechanics to a touching family drama. Instead of depending solely on explosive violence, the story allows Harry to deal with any outstanding matters, come to terms with his coming fate, and face his past relationships. The film ends with a quiet and solemn scene on the city's docks, thus changing the overall narrative from one about self-preservation to one concerning quiet sacrifice.
In terms of theme, the script puts forward a contrast between traditional criminal attitudes and the present-day digital world; Harry acts based on physical ability, caution, and a refusal to use violence. On the other hand, Dylan and his group are a carefree younger generation who are obsessed with intangible things such as cryptocurrency and who always leave behind physical destruction. Segan draws stylistic and thematic comparisons with classic hardboiled crime films such as The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Fat City, and Pickup on South Street, showing Harry as a figure from an earlier era who has been pushed to the sidelines by the changing world.
John Turturro gives the best performance in the film; even as his circumstances get worse he avoids any outbursts or raising his voice, showing a subdued, controlled character defined by his quiet determination, fatigue, and a sense of regret. Rather than presenting Harry as an idealized antihero, he shows him as a competent but low-level criminal struggling with a feeling of irrelevance. The supporting cast adds depth to Harry's world. Giancarlo Esposito plays a seasoned police detective who has a long record of arresting Harry, and the way they interact in their scenes is similar to that of old friends having a relaxed chat about retirement, life and the changes in the times instead of carrying out an adversarial interrogation. Steve Buscemi plays Ben, the tired pawnbroker and dealer, and the conversations between Harry and him illustrate the bleak financial situation that old-fashioned criminals face. Will Price gives a nuanced performance as Dylan, refusing to reduce him to a simple stereotype and showing him as a hot-tempered, entitlement-filled member of the mob who is desperate to get back his digital assets. Tatiana Maslany, Karina Arroyave, Aida Turturro and Jamie Lee Curtis complete the cast and provide the personal and family aspects of Harry's life.
Noah Segan fuses a visual style reminiscent of the 1970s with modern urban environments. The city of New York is shown as a lively and busy presence, thanks to the cinematography of Sam Levy. As Harry is filmed, he passes through various districts, including Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Chinatown, each area being given its own individual character. The tone is determined right from the first frame by the use of LCD Soundsystem's song "New York, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down", which serves as a warm but not overly emotional homage to the city.
The main strength of The Only Living Pickpocket in New York lies in John Turturro's nuanced performance and Noah Segan's careful construction of the world. Although the script makes use of convenient narrative coincidences in order to keep its pace tight and involves a sudden change in tone in the final act, it offers an original viewpoint on the conflict between traditional street crime and the digital age. The film is a thoughtful, melancholy, and surprisingly funny homage to a vanished era of criminal activity and to the city that has outgrown it.
Beyond the surface-level story of street thieves and cryptocurrency, the film resonates on a far broader emotional wavelength. I'm sure other people will read the film this way as well, but it's hard to watch a film like this and not think of AI. We are all standing on the precipice of an unknown future, watching our careers shift, our relevance diminish, and our certainty grow unstable. Harry's struggle is ultimately a human one, capturing that haunting, modern anxiety of mastering a lifelong craft only to watch the world quietly decide it no longer needs it.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York will be in theatres everywhere this Friday, 10/30!
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