Movie Review: “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” is as Charming as it is Stylish
9/12 ForReel Score | 3.5/5 Stars
Sometimes a film can seem more interested in expressing itself visually, choosing to capture a moment in time rather than telling a traditionally structured story. Perfect Days from Wim Wenders, along with a decent chunk of Michael Mann’s filmography, corroborate that idea. Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York aims high in its quest of reaching a similar status. It’s a movie that shows you very early on what it’s going to be by getting you settled in with Segan’s New York City, shot beautifully by Sam Levy. It’s a movie with a message that an old dog can learn new tricks, but not comfortably. As long as you try when it matters, you did the best you could for yourself as well as those around you. You can be stuck in your ways but still have grown as a person, and that’s the most important bit of advice the film attempts to impart over the bustling yet soothing image of the city.
Photo courtesy of Sony.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York starts with John Turturro’s Harry Lehman, an old school pickpocket who still plays by the rules of his time, going around his usual beat in a bustling New York City. He pawns his spoils to an old friend named Ben played by a toned down and perfectly utilized Steve Buscemi, and afterwards picks up his mute, disabled wife from a wellness center to take her home. That night he goes out again to maybe get lucky and runs into a stuck-up rich kid named Dylan played by Will Price. He’s in an older car that immediately catches Harry’s attention. Lehman breaks into the car, grabs the kid’s bag, and is on his way. He finds his wallet, some shoes, and a gun. Off put by the weapon, he tosses it right out but hangs on to the wallet that contains a USB currency locker that obviously means nothing to Harry.
The thing the film does best is capture particular moments, making you feel like you’re living in them. I’ve never been to New York before, but the movie introduces you to its setting in a way that makes you feel like you’ve been living there your entire life. Part of what Segan does so well is that he doesn’t only pander to a certain audience familiar with the city. It’s like it’s a movie made just as much for people who have lived with New York in their movies their entire lives. Home Alone 2, After Hours, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films have all familiarized me with the city. I would imagine films like Collateral, La La Land, and The Fast and the Furious have a similar effect on those on the East Coast trying to connect to a place like LA. This beautiful cityscape put together by Segan immerses you in his world instantly, and the film is at its best when it shows off the city and Turturro’s complicated relationship to it.
Turturro’s Lehman is a guy with a code that he refuses to stray from. He carries the core principles of respect and fairness inside him at all times, and it’s one of his most fascinating character traits. The world around him is completely different than what he seems conditioned to. People don’t carry cash anymore, phones are tough to move, and there is technology now to catch him if he makes one wrong move. The film’s most interesting dynamic is how three specific characters react to this world, and their relationships to it. Lehman obviously knows to do nothing but push on. He would do anything for his wife, Rosie, and so he has to keep the lights on somehow. Another is Giancarlo Esposito’s Detective Warren. You can tell he and Lehman have some history, but are really old friends now. Warren feels obsolete in his career and is being forced into retirement, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stop or give up. He does what he can and keeps the gears of his own life turning still. Will Price’s Dylan sees the world as it is and strives to push the future forward in his own selfish ways, ways that benefit him. He’s lost all sense of community, something that Lehman so desperately holds dear.
As a quick side note: Dylan is the only part of the movie that doesn’t quite gel for me. Will Price is a fine actor and the character does his job as Lehman’s thematic foil, but he comes off as almost cartoonishly evil to the point where it’s tough to keep the rest of the film’s vibe grounded through it. The three characters I mentioned earlier pull the main theme of the film together despite this. Turturro can’t let go, Esposito has accepted it, and Price is dissatisfied with it. It’s a lot to dissect from the movie’s main ideas. It’s good to embrace the times, but it’s okay to not follow, accept them and be comfortable with them. Sometimes it’s okay to just live in the moment you’re in and appreciate that you’re part of something bigger, because life goes on with or without you.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is a quiet but heavy love letter to one of the most important cities on the planet. You’re shown New York’s heart and soul through Segan’s directing, Sam Levy’s cinematography, Gary Lionelli’s music, and Hilda Rasula’s editing. It’s a story about a man that has stayed the same while the world around him hasn’t, and him trying to come to terms with that. Through it all, it is one of the most stylish pictures of the year by capturing the vibe of a beautiful city and a man’s intimate relationship with it.