Sometimes an incredibly on the nose needle drop is exactly what a movie needs. It can often read as corny rather than cheeky, but every now and then it tells you everything you need to know about a movie in all the right ways.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York has just that kind of needle drop. The film opens with LCD Soundsystem’s “New York I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down”. It sets the perfect tone for the rest of movie. As James Murphy longs for a New York City forgotten to time, so does director Noah Segan.
John Turturro stars as Harry Lehman, a man from a bygone time, with a bygone profession – pickpocketing. He rides the subways up and down the isle of Manhattan, lifting wallets, watches, and more from various marks. He then in turns pawns them off with his good pal, Ben (Steve Buscemi), whose granddaughter tells Harry that he needs to enter the new age of computer hacking. But Harry is stuck in the old school.
Harry eventually finds himself in a bit of trouble when he steals from a crypto tech bro with a few more connections than he could’ve guessed. And when his sick wife becomes a vulnerable pawn in the tech bro’s plot, Harry has to use his skills, and a bit of his friendship with Detective Warren (Giancarlo Esposito), to course correct.
Turturro is wonderful in the lead role. He brings a grizzled wisdom and not-quite-lost enthusiasm to Harry that guides him through his trek through the city. Unlike many other movies about NYC, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York sees us visiting all 5 boroughs. And not the typical glitz and glamour of typical NYC shooting locations. Harry lives in the Bronx and finds his way to Forest Hills in Queens and Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, on top of stops in Chelsea and Chinatown. Fittingly, we end in Staten Island.
This is a tour through what many would refer to as the “real” New York. This is the New York City that people fall in love with. The New York City that people like Harry grew up in, and helped shape. A New York City that might be slipping away from our reality. But it can always exist in movies.
The dramatic beats don’t always land in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, and Dylan (the crypto tech bro played by Will Price) isn’t always the most compelling antagonist. But that all takes a backseat to what the true heart of the movie is – being a love letter to New York. This film is so nostalgic for a version of New York that no longer exists, that it imagines a modern New York that still has pay phones! An incredibly cute notion for a world where everyone has computer phones in their pockets.
The timing couldn’t be better for a cinematic celebration of the greatest city in the world. New Yorkers just commemorated the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, by remembering those who were lost and celebrating how the city rallied together during its darkest days. And earlier this summer, a similar rallying occurred when the New York Knicks won their first NBA championship in over 50 years and brought the city together in euphoric ways.
There’s a deep love for this place that’s hard to understand if you never called one of the five boroughs home. Sometimes it might bring you down, but that’s only because you love it so damn much. This is true for James Murphy when singing about it, and true for Harry Lehman when pickpocketing through it.
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