Tuner Review

Tuner is a crime drama directed by documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher, serving as his narrative film debut.

Niki White (Leo Woodall) is a piano tuner who suffers from hyperacusis. When he takes a job to tune a piano at a wealthy client’s house, Niki meets Uri (Lior Raz), the owner of a security company who is breaking into safes as a side hustle. When Niki proves he’s an excellent safe cracker because of his hyperacusis, Uri offers him more work. Niki takes up the offer when his friend/mentor, Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), suffers a heart attack.

Tuner has been a well-received film. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was named as one of the top ten Canadian films in 2025 by the Toronto International Film Festival. It offered something to the usual summer films of blockbusters, franchises, animated fare, and horror films.

Tuner was a more grounded crime that showed how and why someone would enter the criminal underworld. Niki entered through a combination of accident and desperation. He wasn’t looking to enrich himself or for thrills; he was trying to pay for someone’s medical bills due to America having inadequate healthcare. This brought up a socio-economic theme in the film, which was added to by Uri, who claimed he was only stealing from rich people who wouldn’t notice missing items. Tuner was far from being a caper that made crime out to be fun, like Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie would have done.

The grounded approach made Tuner more in line with a film like A Prophet, a film about a prisoner who gets groomed by a crime lord to do a job whilst on day release. Tuner was a more character-driven film. Harry was a surrogate father to Niki after Niki’s dad died. Harry and his wife Maria (Tovah Feldshuh) offered the young man some normalcy. Uri exploited Niki’s need for a father figure by acting caring and supportive to get the young man to work, but became vicious if Niki dared to disobey. Uri used Niki’s hyperacusis as a torture method against the young man.

Niki’s personal relationships extended to his romance with Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu). The relationship had a rocky start, but they gradually bonded because of music. Ruthie was studying to be a composer, and Niki’s abilities became useful. Ruthie offered Niki a chance for a normal life and domestic bliss, and their relationship added to the grounded nature of the film. Even though Niki and Ruthie were a young, good-looking couple, there was an underlying resentment because Niki could have been a world-class pianist, but his condition prevented it.

There was a lot going on in Tuner. There were a lot of moving parts that eventually linked together. This made Tuner’s direction and screenplay admirable as they connected its story elements, both on a structural and emotional level.

Leo Woodall has been on a hot streak. He has impressed in The White Lotus, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, and Nuremberg, and he had another juicy role in Tuner. He was a decent everyman trying to do his best, but he became overwhelmed by his circumstances. He will probably be considered for roles in bigger films soon: Amazon is casting a new James Bond, hint hint. The whole cast was strong: it was made up of legends and rising stars who gave solid performances. Niki’s surrogate fathers were the most notable. Hoffman’s Harry provided warmth, whilst Uri was a more manipulative figure.

Even though Tuner was a grounded, lived-in film, there was a fair amount of wit in it. It prevented Tuner from being overly serious and lightened things up. Hoffman, his onscreen wife, and Benny (Nissan Sakira), Uri’s nephew, were the comedic heavy hitters. They brought some natural humour, whether through marital disagreements or a young man’s laziness.

Tuner was a film that we need to see more of: a well-made, well-told mid-budget film for a mature audience.