Director: Daniel Roher
Writers: Robert Ramsey, Daniel Roher
Stars: Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, Havana Rose Liu
Synopsis: A talented piano tuner’s meticulous skills for tuning pianos lead him to discover an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down.
Niki White (Leo Woodall) tells Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu) that she’d be surprised at how loud the world actually is. There’s distraction anywhere we turn our heads. That any of us are able to focus amongst the dissonance borders on miraculous. For Niki, there’s an added challenge. He has hyperacusis, which turns any mildly loud sound into one that’s quite deafening. Louder noise can be even more debilitating, hence why he always carries around an extra set of heavy-duty headphones. But at the point in his life when we meet him, in Daniel Roher’s narrative debut Tuner, he has found a way to co-exist among the noise. In fact, his sensitive hearing is now being utilized for something beautiful. If only the clients he and mentor Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman) tuned pianos for felt the same way. To these wealthy clients, it’s just background noise. But to Niki and Harry, both promising musicians who each had to step away for their own reasons, it’s the opportunity to allow beauty to pour out of the ivory keys once more. Even if the changes might be imperceptible, the tuning makes all the difference to those who know. And it’s that sort of beauty we should hope to surround ourselves with. For all the thrilling crime elements present in Tuner, it’s this notion that allows it to sing as a particularly compelling drama.
After the fun of the jazzy introduction, Roher settles into a nice groove of moving his story forward. It’s never a film that feels rushed, but is constantly moving. At first, the focus primarily revolves around Harry’s smooth-talking, forcing the reserved Niki into humorous situations. Hoffman is obviously wonderful here, doing what he does best and really bringing some life into the film. Niki is meant to be a bit flat by design, and Woodall does a great job at sustaining this blank canvas which comes heavily into play as the crime elements heighten throughout the film. From there, he swiftly introduces Ruthie to his characters and the audience, and it’s in this budding romance that Tuner finds an additional beating heart. If the first act of this film plays out like a comedic jaunt, the second act shifts into the cinematic territory of romance.
It’s here that Rose Liu is delightful as the co-lead of the film. Through Ruthie, Roher and co-screenwriter Robert Ramsey channel a deeply romantic pairing for Niki. This goes beyond the charming chemistry Rose Liu and Woodall share on screen. It’s in their relationship that Tuner shapes another vessel of thematic ideas ready to be explored. Niki is fed up with tuning pianos for people who can’t tell the difference. To his rich clients, having a piano in the center of the room serves as pure vanity. For Ruthie, her piano means something. And Niki not only sees that upon taking her piano apart, but admires and adores her for it a great deal. As they sit amongst all the components of her piano laid out before them, it’s a physical manifestation of how easily such beauty can be taken apart and reduced to nothing. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to not only see somebody’s passion, but feel it and understand it on a fundamental level. They both know this piano, currently apart in individual pieces, can be rebuilt into something brilliant. In Ruthie, Niki sees something that was stripped away from him. He tells her how lucky he is to even be able to still be near pianos. But if that too were stripped away from him, one gets the sense that Ruthie being by his side would bring him a sense of ease. But that calmness that he has found is on the verge of such disruption.
Tuner stands out as a deeply exciting film because of the crime elements permeating through its DNA. The third act plays out like a full-blown crime thriller, but complementing the budding romance of the second act has Niki discovering an additional function his sensitive hearing serves him: he’s a damn good safe cracker. Niki finds he’s unable to secure a small business loan once unexpected bills begin piling up. It’s a fact Roher doesn’t harp on all that much, but it sets the stage for justification as to why Niki feels the need to turn to crime in the first place. What does leave a bit to be desired is any sort of guilt or emotion regarding Niki’s criminal turn in the first place. There’s hints of it throughout the screenplay, but there’s not much in the way of meaningful interrogation regarding the turn. Despite some associating documentarians with a dryer filmmaking style, Roher brings a really playful energy to this section of Tuner. One particular montage, graced by wonderfully energetic work from editor Greg O’Bryant and composer Will Bates, brings such fun into this section of the film. And it’s much needed considering the shocking turn Tuner is gearing up towards.
Like ascending notes on a piano, this film has a poetic way of escalating to a thrilling crescendo. While parts of Woodall’s performance can feel a bit wooden, it’s the agony he can display while being accosted with deafening noise that is acutely felt. Coupled with the blown-out sound design, the sequences where Niki can barely function due to his sensitivity serves up a genuine fright. Despite never really delving into the intricacies of the heightened crimes Niki becomes entangled in, Roher still captures the impact of certain consequences. He wants to get out, and will do so as best he can. He has found his purpose, even if it costs him a great deal in the end. The world is so loud as Niki told Ruthie. But if we can attune ourselves to something, or someone, we care deeply for, perhaps all the excess noise can be drowned out. Maybe that singular force is all we need, and the search is necessary. Across several different genres, Tuner takes Niki on that search whether he knows it or not. For all the thrill and fun had across this film’s kinetic runtime, it’s in the evocative nature of its emotional and musical rhythms that make it an exciting discovery.
Tuner is celebrating its Canadian premiere in the Special Presentations category of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
