The Only Living Pickpocket In New York Review: John Turturro's Performance Deserves A Better Movie Around It [TIFF]

Despite a delightfully charismatic turn from its star, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is ultimately too predictable to be compelling.

Published Sep 11, 2026, 1:29 PM EDT

Josh is a film critic and journalist with over nine years of experience in the entertainment industry. Entering the field at just 17 years old, Josh went on to make his own website, The HoloFiles, and social media brand Star Wars Holocron, the most followed Star Wars fan account on Twitter/X.

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.

For years, John Turturro has been a valuable presence in all manner of projects. The New York-born actor can bring gravitas and intensity to dramatic roles, and be hilariously memorable in comedic ones – one could watch only his collaborations with the Coen brothers and get a sense of that range. But while he has had opportunities to be number one on the call sheet in his career, he's most often playing a supporting role.

That makes The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, which screens at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival this week, a notable exception. Turturro plays Harry, a seasoned thief who finds it increasingly difficult to do what he does best in a digitalized world. When he takes from someone he wasn’t supposed to, the consequences threaten not only his own life, but those of his loved ones as well.

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is written and directed by Noah Segan, an actor known for his frequent collaborations with writer/director Rian Johnson, who serves as a producer here. In his second feature as a director, Segan crafts a story that is immediately attention-grabbing, particularly because of the premise. The idea of an older man, once revered for his slight-of-hand, now struggling to find his way in a world where cash is more obsolete than ever, is as captivating as any premise this year. It tackles themes of old age, progression (or regression), and what it means to compete with a newer generation.

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.