Review by Brad Balfour, Arts Editor
Film: “Tuner”
Director: Daniel Roher
Cast: Leo Woodall, Havana Rose Liu, Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh, Jean Reno, Dustin Hoffman
Any movie featuring legendary Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman can’t be all bad. But the longer I think about “Tuner,” the more I appreciate it for its balance between an emotionally wrought drama and a crime thriller. The movie stars Leo Woodall (Nuremberg) as Niki White, loyal assistant to piano tuner Harry Horowitz (played by Hoffman), his father’s longtime friend. Once a gifted musician, Niki has hyperacusis, a condition in which he can no longer play piano, wearing ear protection at all times against his increased sensitivity to loud noises.
After forgetting the combination, Harry needs help opening his safe. Niki learns how to do it and discovers he has a talent at safe-cracking. At one of his piano-tuning gigs, he encounters Israeli security contractor Uri (Lir Raz) who immediately sees the potential in enlisting Niki to help him break into clients’ safes. When Harry has a heart attack, Niki accepts Uri’s offer to get him money to cover his mentor’s and wife’s mounting debts. Along the way, Niki meets the beautiful Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a composer who is also a competitive pianist and they fall into a relationship. After one safe-cracking gig, Niki gives her a stolen watch around which the film’s conclusion revolves.
“Tuner” was directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Daniel Roher (the doc “Navalny”) and was awarded a slot at both the Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals last year. As an original film idea that Roher co-wrote with Robert Ramsey, it became something worth paying attention to — especially as a good character-driven heist thriller.
There hasn’t really been a movie revolving around a piano tuner and what that entails. That Niki uses his skills and fine-tuned ear to break into safes is a bonus, which makes “Tuner” feel a lot like a ‘70s or ‘80s thriller like such classics as “The Conversation” or “Blow Out” — as one critic pointed out.
Before his role in “Nuremberg” last year, Woodall was pretty much unknown, but he feels very much like a British actor we will be seeing a lot more of down the road. In recent years, former model Havana Rose Liu has been getting opportunities to show off her skills, especially after roles in “Bottoms” and “Lurker.” The character of Ruthie offers a role which showcases what she’s really capable of. She’s not just attractive; she also has an expressive face that brings so much emotion to her scenes with Woodall.
It’s equally great seeing the 88-year-old Hoffman in what ends up being a fairly small role. But he still has the charm to add a lot to the set-up for the basic story. Even though he doesn’t have much screen time, Hoffman has such an easily grumpy charm and presence that he enriches the film. It was a coup for the director to get him.
While Roher’s storytelling and cast are top-notch, the filmmaker also uses sound and music in a unique way. Oscar-nominated sound designer and sound editor Johnnie Burn places the viewer inside Niki’s headspace, giving audiences a sense of what he hears. Will Bates provides the score, but one only needs to see English record producer and composer Marius De Vries’ name in the credits to know that he probably provided some of the original compositions performed by Ruthie and others.
“Tuner” is a movie that hits most beats and notes. It’s a fine foray into narrative storytelling from a filmmaker who is one of the best from the world of documentaries. It bodes well for one who has successfully transitioned into fictional narrative.