Unknowingly, I have become a big fan of ancient technology. After my mother passed away a couple of years ago, I inherited a few items that were incredibly sentimental. And because I’m a huge fan of nostalgia, I embraced them wholeheartedly.
It wasn’t easy finding a grandfather clock repairman in the 21st century, but I did and after a lengthy waiting period of time, I’m thrilled to hear its chimes multiple times each hour. The queue line for her vintage cuckoo clocks has been even longer, but they’re so delicate, I’m leaning toward display purposes only.
So, suppose I dove headfirst into learning how to repair these instruments of time and in the process, I discovered an unknown skill of cracking safes. Now, if you swap out the clockmaker ability with piano-tuning skills (yet another ancient mechanical instrument), and you’ve got the premise of the movie, Tuner.
Niki White (portrayed by Leo Woodall) is a young piano tuner with a unique hearing disorder: hyperacusis. This auditory condition is defined by an increased sensitivity to everyday sounds, which can make things difficult throughout his job. Working as an apprentice to his mentor, Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), the longtime family friends crisscross New York repairing musical instruments until Harry has a health scare.
Flying solo for the first time, Niki rolls with the punches until he inadvertently gets involved in the crime scheme of security contractors, where his hypersensitive hearing actually allows him to become the perfect safecracker. But things get even more complicated when crossing paths with Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a composition student who rejuvenates his previous persona.
“Now shut the fuck up, so I can get back to work…”
Dustin Hoffman and Leo Woodall star in Tuner. Photo Courtesy: Black Bear.
Before visiting my local movie theater, I really wasn’t sure what to expect of Tuner, with the less I knew about it beforehand, the better. If, by my description, you might have imagined Baby Driver… but with pianos, that would be a safe general comparison, but Tuner combines the elements of a heist film, an action-comedy and a quirky love story with a painful hearing dysfunction. I enjoyed the overall storyline, and then you’ve got Tony Award-winning performer Tovah Feldshuh paired up with Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman in a side story to provide the maternal and paternal gravitas.
Honestly, Hoffman’s Harry Horowitz is the highlight of the film. As a loveable, forgetful codger who usually says the wrong things in public (always embarrassing Niki in the process), I totally related. His personality is loved by everyone, but sadly, this side character is almost instantly sidelined. With the health scare comes Niki’s incentive for making more money: paying off Harry’s medical debts. And that’s when the crime spree side hustle accidentally gets started.
But it’s also where the film shifts focus a few too many times.
Niki’s criminal underworld dealings are offset by an unexpected love story in Academy Award-winning director Daniel Roher’s first narrative feature. Co-written by Roher and Robert Ramsey, the story is enjoyable but feels like it meanders into one-too-many genres for a single storyline. I would have enjoyed a little more screentime for Hoffman’s off-beat character, but Niki’s hearing disorder definitely piqued my interest. And as someone who’s experienced tinnitus decades, different sounds can be an experience for me, both good and bad. While not as serious as hyperacusis, I related with this story element as well.
While Woodall does a dependable job working with so many award winners, Havana Rose Liu dragged me into the romantic perspective, kicking and screaming. Together, their on-screen chemistry is great, but clocking in at a taught 109 minutes, Tuner‘s finale wrapped a little too conveniently, even though its runtime didn’t drag.
Niki’s finely tuned hearing presented unique storyline possibilities for the multi-hyphenate filmmaker, Roher, and my appreciation for outdated technology continues with Tuner. I look forward to hearing more from him in the future. I just hope he focuses his talents into a straight-forward, singular genre style for his next big-screen endeavor.