Last week, “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” premiered at Sundance to very good reviews — it currently has an impressive 85 on Metacritic.
In ‘Pickpocket,’ directed by Noah Segan, Turturro plays Harry, an aging, old-school pickpocket who still works the streets and subways of New York despite his craft being nearly obsolete. His quiet routine is shattered when he accidentally steals an item tied to dangerous criminals, putting both himself and his disabled wife at risk.
More curiously, some who have seen the film have pointed out that this could be the performance that finally gives John Turturro his first Oscar nomination. Yeah, hard to believe — but Turturro has never been recognized by the Academy, despite a flurry of great performances in films such as “The Big Lebowski,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Barton Fink,” “Miller’s Crossing,” and “Quiz Show.”
Looking through the list of great living actors who have never received an Oscar nomination, Turturro is near the top — a character actor who can anchor a film as effortlessly as he can disappear into the margins of one, bringing wit and humanity to even the smallest roles.
I’ve compiled a list of indispensable actors who have been snubbed for decades by the Academy:
John Turturro, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Martin Sheen, Oscar Isaac, Kevin Bacon, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Danny Glover, Kurt Russell, Ben Foster
For years, I thought Buscemi had been nominated for “Ghost World,” but no — what a shameful snub. As for Goodman, he deserved nods for his work in Coen brothers films alone, especially “The Big Lebowski,” “Barton Fink,” and “Inside Llewyn Davis.” Maybe he’ll finally get one for Iñárritu’s “Digger.”
As for Oscar-snubbed actors who are no longer with us: Donald Sutherland, Klaus Kinski, Peter Lorre, Joseph Cotten, Edward G. Robinson, Rita Hayworth, Warren Oates, John Cazale, Maureen O’Hara, Myrna Loy, Raúl Juliá, Toshiro Mifune, Alan Rickman.
“The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” currently has no U.S. distributor to its name, but that might change in the coming days as it was easily one of the most acclaimed titles at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.