Rian Johnson's New R-Rated Crime Thriller Debuts To Stellar Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

Published Oct 28, 2026, 12:22 PM EDT

Maggie Dela Paz is a News and TV writer at ScreenRant. She has nearly a decade of professional experience in writing entertainment articles about a wide range of topics, including movies, television, music, anime, streaming, and more.

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Moviegoers are already loving Rian Johnson’s newest R-rated movie, titled The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, ahead of its release this Friday, October 30.

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York marks Johnson’s latest endeavor as an executive producer. The R-rated crime thriller features Cannes-winning actor John Turturro as an aging traditional thief struggling to make ends meet in today’s digital age. Following its world premiere last January at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, the movie earned wide praise from early reactions. Now, it's finally garnering attention from the general audience, after debuting nearly a week ago in limited theaters in Los Angeles and New York City.

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At the time of writing, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York has scored a strong 86% audience score. Meanwhile, the film’s critic rating remains fresh at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Turturro’s leading performance as Harry Lehman is getting high praise, with critics describing it as a career-defining moment for The Big Lebowski actor. Reviews are also calling it a love letter to 1990s indie cinema, which is elevated by Turturro's masterclass performance and his incredible chemistry with co-stars Steve Buscemi and Giancarlo Esposito.

The movie follows an old-school thief who learns the hard way why the world no longer has a place for his profession. His life changes when he unknowingly steals a valuable digital wallet from someone connected to a crime syndicate. Although it's receiving wide critical acclaim, some critics felt that the script didn't match the level of performance that Turturro brought to the table. In ScreenRant’s Josh Bate’s review of The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, he pointed out the film’s predictable plot and underdeveloped characters as reasons why it “struggles at times to live up to its potential.”

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York was written and directed by Noah Segan. Apart from Turturro, the movie also stars Giancarlo Esposito, Steve Buscemi, Tatiana Maslany, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lori Tan Chinn, Victoria Morales, and Aida Turturro. This served as Segan’s tenth collaboration with Rian Johnson. Segan has actually appeared in all of the movies that the acclaimed filmmaker has directed, including Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Netflix’s Knives Out movies. He also had a guest role in Johnson’s Peacock comedy series Poker Face.

After the streaming success of Wake Up Dead Man, Rian Johnson shared his plans to return to the sci-fi genre after nearly a decade since directing the divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie. In a previous interview, he confirmed that he's currently writing a movie inspired by "'70s paranoid thrillers" which will have a "light sci-fi" element to it. Beyond directing, Johnson is also serving as a producer for Joseph Gordon-Levitt's next directorial feature in the form of Netflix's upcoming thriller movie, 2034, which will star Rachel McAdams and Joel Edgerton.

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is now playing in select theaters in Los Angeles and New York. Afterwards, Sony Pictures Classics will expand its release nationwide, starting on Friday, October 30, 2026.