Back in My Day, We Didn't Need Cell Phones for Crime

New York City cinema is an extensive canon of films lovingly set in the city that never sleeps, often made by filmmakers with deep roots in at least…

New York City cinema is an extensive canon of films lovingly set in the city that never sleeps, often made by filmmakers with deep roots in at least one of the five boroughs. Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, After Hours, etc.), Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally…, You've Got Mail, etc.), and Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha, The Squid and the Whale, etc.) are just a few examples of artists who notably have come from and paid homage to the city.

A film shot in New York - and not a substitute city like Toronto or Vancouver - has a special personality and lends itself to a multitude of genres, from romantic comedy to crime thriller.

I submit actor-writer-director Noah Segan's sophomore feature film, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (2026), for entry into this esteemed category - if the title wasn't enough of an indication, the very first scene introduces the tone-setting needledrop of "New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down" by LCD Soundsystem. This is a story taking place in the streets and subways of New York, and it wants you to embrace that.

Harry Lehman (John Turturro) is an older New Yorker who lives in The Bronx with his disabled, nonverbal wife Rosie (Karina Arroyave). As far as the viewer can understand, Harry has always made a living from the classic crime of pickpocketing. When he clocks in for his shift - wearing a cozy-looking cashmere coat and accompanied by a classy '70s-inspired score - he spends the day riding public transportation and patrolling the sidewalk, looking for his next mark.

On a good day, he earns a few hundred bucks from selling his haul to longtime friend and pawn shop owner Ben (Steve Buscemi). While more stylized crime movies depict pickpockets as magician-like swindlers, this is a realistic portrait of a man who has only ever known this method of making a living.