Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Daniel Roher
Starring: Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, Havana Rose Liu, Jean Reno, Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh
Professional perfectionists always make for great movie protagonists. There is something compelling about watching someone who takes so much pride in their work that simply getting the job done isn't enough; they have to do the best possible version of their work. The very idea of a professional is something that is currently under threat. The internet, and now AI (ugh), has convinced a lot of people that they can master a craft or trade without putting the work in. Talk to any plumber and they'll tell you a story of a client who flooded their home because they thought they could learn how to fix a leak by watching a YouTube video.
There are some professions that are both misunderstood and unappreciated by the general public. Niki, the anti-hero of Tuner, works in one such field. Played by Leo Woodall in a brooding performance reminiscent of mid-career Ryan Gosling, Niki is a piano tuner. He works for Harry (Dustin Hoffman, delivering his best performance in many a year), a veteran of the trade whose clients include musical luminaries like Herbie Hancock (who pops up in a self-deprecating cameo). Harry thinks of Niki as a nephew, and the two enjoy a close professional and personal relationship. The opening scene illustrates how undervalued their work is when a client offers $150 if they can fix her blocked toilet (with classic Jewish New York wit, Harry's response is "Make it $500 and we can start talking."). Along with musicians, Harry and Niki tune pianos for a lot of rich people who have no appreciation for the beautiful and expensive instruments in their possession; they are simply trophies, symbols of their wealth to be wheeled out at dinner parties.
Tuner belongs to the school of crime thrillers in which someone with a rare skill is cajoled into using their talent to aid criminals. Niki suffers from hyperacusis, which means he has super sensitive hearing. Not in the spidey sense way, but in a way that makes living in a place like New York close to unbearable at times. He protects his hearing by always wearing earbuds, and when he's in a noisy environment he dons noise-cancelling headphones. The upside of Niki's condition is that along with his perfect pitch, he makes for one hell of a piano tuner. He also discovers that he has a talent for safecracking, his fine sense of hearing allowing him to sense the clicks of the gears of a safe's lock mechanism through heavy steel.
This discovery is made in innocent fashion when the doddering Harry changes the combination on his own safe and then immediately forgets it. But as luck, or misfortune, would have it, Niki stumbles across a man who wants to use his gift in far from innocent ways. Israeli mobster Uri (Lior Raz) cajoles Niki into joining his gang, cracking open the safes of New York's elite. Uri works on the theory that it is risk free to steal a small portion of a rich person's wealth, as they are unlikely to notice it's gone. He also sells Niki a romantic Robin Hood fantasy of stealing from rich assholes who have made their money exploiting the poor.
After initial reluctance, Niki embraces his new lifestyle. He uses his new income to pay for Harry's significant medical bills when the old man becomes hospitalised. He begins dating Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a gifted piano student who does her best to coax Niki into playing the instrument he hasn't touched since he developed his condition as a child. Woodall and Liu have such great chemistry that for a considerable portion of Tuner we forget that it's a crime thriller. Director Daniel Roher and co-writer Robert Ramsey fashion a very relatable portrayal of the awkward early days of a romance, when two people are still feeling each other out. There is a skin-crawling scene in which the naive Niki gifts Ruthie an antique watch pilfered from one of the safes he cracked. It is an escalation of the relationship she is unprepared for, and Liu's uncomfortable reaction is beautifully played.
Tuner uses its thriller plot to make several points about the social awkwardness of young people who live in their headphones; about the need for young men to have the right father figure, lest they fall prey to bad influences; and of how easy it is to fall into the trap of trading something you're passionate about for something that pays the bills more easily. It is set in a very Jewish milieu, and I think it is saying something specific about that world, but I will leave it to Jewish writers to cover that aspect.
The plot contains perhaps one coincidence too many, but it is brilliantly constructed nonetheless. It is rare to see such confident storytelling in a feature debut, and Roher and Ramsey know just where to plant seeds that will later sprout with dramatic impact. The closing line is an all-timer that drew a rare applause from my audience. Tuner is a movie that conveys the importance of music in a way most musical biopics ignore, and as a portrayal of a disability it does an excellent job of putting us inside the head of someone whose life is made agonising by things most of us take for granted (smoke alarms and airhorns are weaponised to striking effect here). Roher's film is as finely tuned as the pianos cared for by its protagonist.
Tuner is in UK cinemas from May 29th and Irish cinemas from June 5th.
