Review: Shifty and subtle, John Turturro beguiles in 'The Only Living Pickpocket in New York'

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Set us as preferred John Turturro has more than his share of admirers.The Coen brothers have hired him four times; Spike Lee, nine.

Adam Sandler loves working with him, as does Michael Bay.If Hollywood is like high school (and it most definitely is), Turturro is the kind of guy who can hang with both the jocks and the nerds, sliding effortlessly into whatever world he finds himself.

You know him for countless roles — the self-important playwright Barton Fink or the purple jumpsuit-rocking bowler whom nobody messes with in “The Big Lebowski.” Turturro wrecked us playing the grieving Irv on Apple TV’s trippy drama “Severance,” and when Irv disappeared in Season 2, fans worried we might have seen the last of him.(Not to worry: Turturro will be returning.) With his lanky frame, unruly hair and sad, deep-set eyes, Turturro, 69, often inhabits twitchy, tightly wound characters, though he can also recede into stillness, conveying buried hurt and pain.

We see that weary, mindful attentiveness come alive again with his latest movie, “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” a throwback crime drama that offers Turturro a rare starring role.If it’s not his career-best work, it belongs in the conversation.

Movies Stealing the spotlight in his latest movie, ‘The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,’ the quintessential indie actor reflects on a career spent following his instincts.Turturro’s title character could be seen as a hero for those aspiring to an analog life.Harry doesn’t own a smartphone, spins vinyl and dances in the Bronx apartment he shares with his wife, Rosie (Karina Arroyave), a beautiful woman left immobile and unresponsive from an unstated health issue.

Harry lives by a code, stealing and dealing only tangible things — cash, phones, jewelry.It’s an ethos proving to be a challenge in today...