Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers and key details from the film ‘Tuner‘. Reader discretion is advised if you haven’t watched it yet.Leo Woodall, who made a memorable impression in season 2 of ‘The White Lotus’, is stepping into his first major lead role with ‘Tuner’, a low-key thriller that takes one of cinema’s least-used heist methods and builds an engaging story around it. Written and directed by documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher, making his narrative feature debut, and co-written by Robert Ramsey, the film arrives with quiet confidence and a strong sense of character.
What ‘Tuner’ is about
Woodall plays Niki, an apprentice piano tuner working under the veteran Harry, played by Dustin Hoffman, who handles the client charm while Niki does the heavy lifting. What makes Niki uniquely suited to his job, and eventually to a life of crime, is a rare condition called hyperacusis, which makes him both sensitive to loud noises and capable of hearing subtle sounds that others simply cannot detect.When Niki stumbles upon a trio of criminals attempting to crack a safe at a house where he is tuning a piano, he helps them more out of frustration than greed. Things escalate when Harry is hospitalised and left with mounting medical bills, prompting Niki to join the group for quick money. The criminals soon want more from him than he is willing to give, and what follows is a tense unravelling as he tries to extract himself without losing everything in the process.
What works and what does not in ‘Tuner’
Roher and Ramsey spend the first third of the film carefully establishing Niki, Harry and Harry’s wife Marla, played by Tovah Feldshuh, as fully formed characters. That investment in personal storytelling pays off considerably once Niki begins his descent into crime. His divided loyalties and the genuine danger of the thefts create real tension, which is further complicated by a budding romance with piano student Ruthie, played by Havana Rose Liu, a relationship that forces him into a mounting series of lies.The film does hit some bumps in its second half. Niki’s end goal remains unclear, and the screenplay begins to take shortcuts as it rushes toward its conclusion. A sudden argument scene between Niki and Ruthie feels out of place and serves little obvious purpose in the larger story. Despite this, the film maintains a consistently high quality throughout, largely thanks to its performances and the originality of its central premise.
The cast and what to expect
Woodall is on the cusp of a genuine breakout, and this understated but compelling performance should only accelerate that trajectory. Hoffman, despite limited screen time, remains as watchable as ever. Liu, known from ‘Bottoms’, continues to demonstrate the kind of screen presence that suggests bigger roles are on the way.‘Tuner’ may not fully reach its potential, but it is a thoughtful and well-crafted thriller that makes the most of an underused heist premise and a quietly impressive cast. It is now playing in theatres.