by Josh Sewell
Heist movies are notoriously tricky to pull off. Keep viewers in the dark too long and they accuse the filmmaker of not playing fair. Hold their hand every step of the way and they complain there’s no surprises.
Fortunately, Tuner – the new thriller from director Daniel Roher (who co-wrote the screenplay with Robert Ramsey) – sidesteps most of the usual genre pitfalls by incorporating an endearing romance and a splash of family drama. Even better, almost all the characters – whether major or supporting – are compelling and complex, with inner lives the audience wants to know more about.
Tuner centers on Niki White (Leo Woodall), a talented piano tuner with a hearing condition that gives him perfect pitch but also makes him hypersensitive to loud noises. His job takes him all over New York City, its legendary concert halls and university campuses, as well as its surrounding affluent neighborhoods.
Even better, it has provided Niki with a found family in his boss/mentor Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman) and his beloved wife Marla (Tovah Feldshuh). The job also introduces him to Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a confident, resolute music major who challenges his tough guy exterior.
Niki’s life gets a lot more complicated when security contractor Uri (Lior Raz) learns his talent also makes him great at safe cracking, right when Harry and Marla reveal they’re drowning in medical debt. Torn between a lucrative (but super illegal) new career and a healthy relationship with Ruthie, Niki finds himself at an ethical crossroads.
Although Tuner has a few narrative hiccups – particularly a development in the last 30 minutes that requires viewers to accept a massive coincidence – Roher has crafted a respectable feature debut with some excellent performances. Already an Oscar winner for Best Documentary (2022’s Navalny), his engaging pivot to the world of fiction, as well as his talent for attracting iconic actors like Hoffman, Feldshuh and Jean Reno (who makes a brief cameo as an influential composer) suggests plenty of studios will jump at the chance to work with him in the future.
Roher also has a talent for pulling excellent performances out of his leads. Woodall is fantastic, holding his own against a terrific Hoffman, and proving his scene-stealing work in last year’s Nuremberg was no fluke. In that film, he’s just as memorable as co-stars Rami Malek, Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon despite having a much smaller role.
Woodall is in practically every scene (aside from an important sequence near the end) and even though the entire film results on his shoulders, he makes it seem effortless. Despite being a Brit, the actor also has a pretty convincing New York accent. As he deftly maneuvered between the suspenseful, action-heavy parts and the genuinely sweet romantic moments, I couldn’t help thinking he’d make a decent James Bond since Denis Villeneuve is trying to find a new one.
Liu is also strong in what could’ve easily been a clichéd love interest role. Instead, she makes Ruthie a fully realized character with an actual personality and her own ambitions outside of just becoming Niki’s girlfriend.
Raz is solid as the film’s main antagonist, as are Gil Cohen and Nissan Sakira, who play Uri’s henchman relatives. However, despite their roles in teaching Niki the terrifying lesson that “you reap what you sow,” it’s a little anticlimactic how their characters disappear from the story. I didn’t need them to face vigilante justice or some other trite comeuppance, but I did expect some kind of resolution.
As you might expect, music plays a massive role in getting the feel of Tuner just right; thankfully, composer Will Bates and music supervisor Steven Gizicki excel in that regard. The soundtrack is full of moody jazz and classical selections, adding authenticity to the characters and making the story’s world feel lived-in.
Although there are some clumsy moments in the third act that require the audience to suspend disbelief – an ask that won’t work for everyone – Tuner recovers the fumble with a fist-pumping final scene. Sometimes when a movie is wrapping up, I’ll think to myself, “if the screen cuts to black right now, it would be a perfect ending.” It doesn’t happen often, but Roher nails it.
Tuner is rated R for language throughout, some violence, drug use and brief nudity. Opens in select theaters on May 29.
Grade: B
Fortunately, Tuner – the new thriller from director Daniel Roher (who co-wrote the screenplay with Robert Ramsey) – sidesteps most of the usual genre pitfalls by incorporating an endearing romance and a splash of family drama. Even better, almost all the characters – whether major or supporting – are compelling and complex, with inner lives the audience wants to know more about.
Tuner centers on Niki White (Leo Woodall), a talented piano tuner with a hearing condition that gives him perfect pitch but also makes him hypersensitive to loud noises. His job takes him all over New York City, its legendary concert halls and university campuses, as well as its surrounding affluent neighborhoods.
Even better, it has provided Niki with a found family in his boss/mentor Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman) and his beloved wife Marla (Tovah Feldshuh). The job also introduces him to Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a confident, resolute music major who challenges his tough guy exterior.
Niki’s life gets a lot more complicated when security contractor Uri (Lior Raz) learns his talent also makes him great at safe cracking, right when Harry and Marla reveal they’re drowning in medical debt. Torn between a lucrative (but super illegal) new career and a healthy relationship with Ruthie, Niki finds himself at an ethical crossroads.
Although Tuner has a few narrative hiccups – particularly a development in the last 30 minutes that requires viewers to accept a massive coincidence – Roher has crafted a respectable feature debut with some excellent performances. Already an Oscar winner for Best Documentary (2022’s Navalny), his engaging pivot to the world of fiction, as well as his talent for attracting iconic actors like Hoffman, Feldshuh and Jean Reno (who makes a brief cameo as an influential composer) suggests plenty of studios will jump at the chance to work with him in the future.
Roher also has a talent for pulling excellent performances out of his leads. Woodall is fantastic, holding his own against a terrific Hoffman, and proving his scene-stealing work in last year’s Nuremberg was no fluke. In that film, he’s just as memorable as co-stars Rami Malek, Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon despite having a much smaller role.
Woodall is in practically every scene (aside from an important sequence near the end) and even though the entire film results on his shoulders, he makes it seem effortless. Despite being a Brit, the actor also has a pretty convincing New York accent. As he deftly maneuvered between the suspenseful, action-heavy parts and the genuinely sweet romantic moments, I couldn’t help thinking he’d make a decent James Bond since Denis Villeneuve is trying to find a new one.
Liu is also strong in what could’ve easily been a clichéd love interest role. Instead, she makes Ruthie a fully realized character with an actual personality and her own ambitions outside of just becoming Niki’s girlfriend.
Raz is solid as the film’s main antagonist, as are Gil Cohen and Nissan Sakira, who play Uri’s henchman relatives. However, despite their roles in teaching Niki the terrifying lesson that “you reap what you sow,” it’s a little anticlimactic how their characters disappear from the story. I didn’t need them to face vigilante justice or some other trite comeuppance, but I did expect some kind of resolution.
As you might expect, music plays a massive role in getting the feel of Tuner just right; thankfully, composer Will Bates and music supervisor Steven Gizicki excel in that regard. The soundtrack is full of moody jazz and classical selections, adding authenticity to the characters and making the story’s world feel lived-in.
Although there are some clumsy moments in the third act that require the audience to suspend disbelief – an ask that won’t work for everyone – Tuner recovers the fumble with a fist-pumping final scene. Sometimes when a movie is wrapping up, I’ll think to myself, “if the screen cuts to black right now, it would be a perfect ending.” It doesn’t happen often, but Roher nails it.
Tuner is rated R for language throughout, some violence, drug use and brief nudity. Opens in select theaters on May 29.
Grade: B
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
Comments
Post a Comment