The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (🌟🌟🌟🌟) is more than just a love-letter to New York City - it’s a love letter to Cinema. John Turturro has long been one of my favorite actors & this is an opportunity to spend 90 minutes with a man who’s consistently popped up in some of my favorite films of all time. Turturro is a marvel in this movie. We don’t often see Turturro get the keys to a film as its lead actor. That’s not the case here. Turturro, flanked by fellow outstanding veterans like Giancarlo Esposito and Steve Buscemi, is given a lot of room to work. And he couldn’t be better. I’m glad this film got made - I’m glad I saw this film.  Turturro plays Harry Lehman. He’s an old-school pickpocket who’s having a harder and harder time surviving in a world that’s crashing around him. Everything is electronic now, nothing is physical. No one takes cash - let alone carries cash. That’s all without mentioning that Harry’s wife Rosie (Karin Arroyave) is slowly dying, making Harry’s need for money even stronger. Steve Buscemi plays Harry’s longtime friend Ben who owns a pawn shop while Giancarlo Esposito plays a local detective who knows Harry better than Harry knows himself. But the crux of the story/idea here is that Harry eventually pockets a young, snooty little brat who happens to be from a wealthy family. Long story short? The kid Harry robs from happens to be made. Thus leads Harry down a long game of cat & mouse in which, this time, Harry is the hunted.  The story has flaws here - there’s no running from that. I think there’s way too much packed into the the “get me my money in 48 hours or else” subplot here. Harry is basically told by the kid he robs that he has to get his crypto-filled hard drive back ASAP. But Harry doesn’t really do anything…ASAP? It’s a flaw in the story that sort of bleeds into the reason I love the movie. As paradoxical as that sounds, this movie meanders and I love it. Turturro takes his time. With everything. With everyone. That’s sort of the point of all of this.  The Only Living Pickpocket in New York calls upon vintage ‘70s films like Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, and even - at times - The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3. All of which is to say that there’s a slow build to a final act but the beauty of the film is in the build itself. No, the pacing here is nowhere near the films I just mentioned, nor are the stakes of the film- as were really just dealing with Harry’s individual plight. But the idea here is that the destination isn’t what matters. What matters is spending time with this film’s protagonist, Harry, and learning what makes him tick. Or, rather, learning what keeps him alive in a world that no longer needs him.  It’s impossible to write or think about this film without acknowledging New York City. I think NYC is on fire right now for so many reasons (Knicks in 5!). And I also think so much production is moving to NYC from LA. I’m a fan of it - I’m a fan of anything that lends itself to real filmmaking and NYC does that, still, after all these years. Every last shot of this film is shot on the streets of New York. Nothing is fake, nothing is bullshit. The patches of Turturro walking up and down a brisk NYC or navigating his way through the subway system - a man who was born and raised in Queens & who knows the city better than anyone - are worth the price of admission alone.  Then there’s Turturro. Man, is he good here. Turturro is a walking, living piece of Cinema history. He’s worked with some of Cinema’s most important directors & he’s been a part of some of the most important films of the last 40 years. Here, Turturro shows that maybe in the last 40 years, he deserved bigger parts. He deserved more at-bats as a leading man. Francis Ford Coppola once wrote that in order to age well, a man needs to 1) stay thin 2) keep his hair and 3) make money. Turturro satisfies all 3. He’s so easy to spend time with in this film & he’s every-bit a leading man.