TUNER Review

Niki (Leo Woodall) is a piano tuner with perfect pitch. He works with a good family friend and father figure Harry (Dustin Hoffman), and together they drive around tuning pianos. He suffers from hyperacusis, causing him to have incredible sensitivity to loud noises, keeping him from playing the piano, which he has an incredible gift for. While on the job he meets Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu) and quickly becomes infatuated with her. Along the way, he realizes his hyperacusis gives him a unique ability to crack safes, and he has an entirely new life to balance.

Tuner feels like a product of another time, in the best way possible. A great companion piece to this film would be François Truffaut's Shoot The Piano Player, and not just because of the piano connection. Both films operate as intense thrillers, but have very tight scripts and never lose the tonal balance they shoot for. These gentler, more controlled thrillers allow for much more character development, and tend to contain more emotional beats.

They also tend to contain some incredible performances, and Leo Woodall falls into that category. He is brilliant here, really capturing what it means to be a caretaker, while in pain yourself. He is in total command here, this is a superstar in the making. Excited to see him in Tony later this year.

The supporting cast is also really great here, and there are a handful of performances to shout out. Havana Rose Liu is terrific, showcases the strive for greatness, and the emotional vulnerability that comes as a result. Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh and Jean Reno all add a lot to the film, and steal a scene along the way. Dustin Hoffman is the heartbeat of the film, and adds a genuinely funny comedic layer to the film. This is his best performance in awhile.

There is a very lived in quality to this film. Although, this character goes through some pretty unique circumstances, you always resonate with him pretty firmly. He is dealing with grief and new love at a very busy and unstable point in his life, something you can really feel through the screen. The dialogue is incredibly quippy, with some great comedic lines. I do really think this would contend for a Best Original Screenplay nomination in a just world.

This is the narrative feature debut of director Daniel Roher, a highly impressive feat. While this film does feel small, and somewhat cozy at times, it does also reach a big climax. He has a great deal of control over this film, it never feels like it hits too chaotic of a point. He has a documentary background, and won an Oscar for his 2022 documentary Navalny. The pipeline of documentary filmmakers, headed over to narrative filmmaking is definitely hit or miss, with this being a massive hit. The film has very strong editing, I love when the editor uses the score to move the film from scene to scene. And yeah, the jazzy New York score is reminiscent of another time as well. Superb score, and I love films like this about real, gritty everyday musicians. The unsung hero, the piano tuner, the backbone of the music world.

Tuner is a genre bending thrill ride, reminiscent of another time. It has so much heart, and a brilliant central performance by Leo Woodall.

A crowd-pleasing but artistically unique film, absolutely worth a watch.

🍿 SCORE = 94 / 100