![The Only Living Pickpocket In New York Review: John Turturro's Performance Deserves A Better Movie Around It [TIFF]](https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/john-turturro-walking-down-a-street-that-s-out-of-focus-in-the-only-living-pickpocket-in-new-york.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop "The Only Living Pickpocket In New York Review: John Turturro's Performance Deserves A Better Movie Around It [TIFF]")
A member of both the Chicago Indie Critics and the Hollywood Critics Alliance, Josh has covered major industry events including Star Wars Celebration and, most recently, CinemaCon for ScreenRant. His work has appeared in outlets such as Game Rant and Comic Book Resources (CBR), and he has been featured in publications including the BBC and The New York Times.
The Only Living Pickpocket In New York Fails To Live Up To Its Promising Premise
As promising as that all sounds, the film struggles at times to live up to its potential, with the simplicity of the story being a key reason. In the first act, the film lays down all of its chess pieces: Harry; his pawn shop friend (played brilliantly by Steve Buscemi); Harry’s ailing wife (Karina Arroyave); and the group of youngsters that Harry steals from. The story, however, never becomes more complex than that, and instead remains largely surface-level for the duration of the film’s brisk, 88-minute runtime. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York really is as simple as a villain (who isn’t given any character development beyond his family being wealthy and powerful) hunting down Harry. And while everything is executed well, Segan’s movie still leaves the audience wanting more.
Those struggles aren’t for a lack of trying, however. John Turturro infuses the film with enough charisma and charm that it, at the very least, remains consistently entertaining. Harry is a character that audiences naturally feel a lot for, whether that be sympathy, pity, or something else entirely. One touching scene in particular revolves around Harry visiting his daughter (played by Tatiana Maslany) after years of being estranged, and it’s in this sequence that the film teases it could become something more. That something never comes, despite Turturro’s best efforts. It’s hard not to wish that his character existed in a film that came together more than this one does.
With simplicity often comes predictability, another challenge The Only Living Pickpocket in New York fails to overcome. Without giving too much away, the ending of the film (and, in particular, where Harry ends up) is too easy to map out from the get-go. Not only does the story lack sufficient layers to be as compelling as it can be, but it also suffers from a familiarity that, ultimately, lowers the stakes. It’s hard for the audience to get too invested in Harry’s story when it’s so easy to see where things are headed. So, although The Only Living Pickpocket In New York is entertaining enough, it still fails to overcome its most fatal of flaws.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York screened at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. It releases in limited US theaters on October 16 before expanding nationwide on October 23.
