Documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher makes his function movie debut with Tuner, a pitch-perfect heist thriller that fairly actually hits all the best notes. Leo Woodall stars as Niki, a former piano prodigy who now spends his time tuning pianos because the apprentice of Dustin Hoffman’s Harry Horowitz.
They spend their days engaged on devices which can be used, at finest, every year, however Niki has a novel present in that he can establish any be aware simply by listening to it. That is implied to be a results of his listening to incapacity — to him, sound is ache, and he should put on ear plugs day-after-day and noise-cancelling headphones in significantly loud environments.
In a genius twist (in a script stuffed with intelligent turns), this additionally makes Niki the right protected cracker, and he’s finally drawn right into a shady world of thieves who use their cowl as safety guards to rob wealthy purchasers.
Tuner Is Firing On All Cylinders
Roher co-wrote the sharp script with Robert Ramsay and constructed into this story is a brilliantly constructed and plush sonic world with a jazzy rating courtesy of Will Bates. Tuner makes you’re feeling Niki’s ache, the world round him a minefield of potential damage punctuated by sensible sound design. The story makes use of sound to intelligent ends — there’s one scene with an airhorn that feels significantly merciless.
However beneath all it is a slyly emotional story that sneaks up on you. The daddy-son dynamic between Niki and Harry is supported by the great chemistry of Woodall and Hoffman. Harry’s spouse Marla (an all the time heat Tovah Feldshuh) can be a key determine within the movie, however the centerpiece relationship is that between Niki and Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu in her finest position so far), a younger piano pupil who’s on her technique to reaching every little thing Niki could not.
When he developed his aversion to sound at a younger age, Niki was pressured to surrender enjoying the piano, although it is one thing he is been working in direction of once more day-after-day, preventing emotional and bodily blocks to do what he loves as soon as once more. Tuner’s layered script packs all of this and extra into its snappy runtime.
Woodall anchors Tuner with a cleverly muted efficiency that slowly blossoms into one thing extra emotionally open, particularly as his reference to Ruthie grows. In The White Lotus, the British actor was attractive and slippery, however Tuner sees him tapping right into a softer aspect, sharp-tongued, however by no means bitter, coy smiles which can be heat relatively than overtly seductive.
Even in its harrowing moments (of which there are a couple of), Tuner by no means sensationalizes its heist plot, choosing a practical method to a narrative that’s already so grounded within the on a regular basis lives of those individuals. We see Niki tune extra pianos than we do unlock safes, and although he appears to be going via the motions, there is a humanity to the best way Tuner treats Niki’s life, which on the floor seems rote, however is relatively advanced because the story expands.
As Tuner races in direction of its sensible crescendo, all aspects of its story collide in stunning methods, Niki’s relationships with everybody round him being pulled deep into the net of dishonesty he inadvertently weaves. Regardless of his good intentions, Niki runs the chance of ruining every little thing and everybody round him and although the stakes are admittedly small, they do not actually really feel that approach.
Roher’s route offers the movie an intimate perspective, however the aforementioned sonic world the movie builds expands the scope in sly methods. We go out and in of Niki’s standpoint on how he hears the world round him, sure scenes muffled and others ringing with the sonic energy of a searing migraine. The lens blurs as Niki’s world does, and we’re in it with him each step of the best way.
Within the movie’s ultimate moments, there’s a great sonic catharsis, and you will be hard-pressed to not depart the theater with a smile in your face. Tuner is a small movie, however one that can depart a big effect. It really is without doubt one of the most pleasant surprises of the autumn and deserves to be seen on an enormous display screen with the loudest sound doable. Here is hoping it will get that probability.
Tuner screened on the 2025 Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition.
Tuner
9/10
- Launch Date
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August 30, 2025
- Runtime
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109 minutes
- Director
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Daniel Roher
- Writers
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Robert Ramsey
- Producers
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Andrew Golov, JoAnne Sellar, Lila Yacoub, Mary Anne Waterhouse, Noah Segal, Christina Piovesan, Teddy Schwarzman, John Friedberg
