Tuner ★★★

Availability: Still showing in some theaters in the US and Canada. Streaming availability predicted to begin within a month, given the track record of the US (Black Bear) and Canadian (Elevation Pictures) distributors. See JustWatch here for full online rental and purchase availability.

A Rom-Thrill in Sound

The sound of one piano note opens this small film. Then another, then a close-up of the tuner himself, his ear to the strings, listening. The sounds and the close-ups of the piano tuner and his craft—as it turns out, crafts—are strengths and delights of “Tuner.” British actor Leo Woodall is captivating as Niki, the young piano tuner whose acumen comes from his inability to tolerate loud, or even some normal sounds. Niki suffers from hyperacusis, a rare and real, incurable auditory disorder that makes loud sounds unbearably painful.

Harry (Dustin Hoffman, left) and Niki (Leo Woodall) are an entertaining duo, with Hoffman injecting a bit of comedy into the otherwise serious plot.

Writer and director Daniel Rohrer, with documentaries his forte, teamed up with veteran Hollywood crime/comedy writer Robert Ramsey to turn this disorder into a rom-thrill, a romantic story intertwined with a crime-thriller plot. Havana Rose Liu (“Lurker” 2022 and “Bottoms” 2023) supplies the romance; she’s Ruthie, Niki’s composer student girlfriend. The love affair between an introverted, isolated young man, damaged but willfully independent, and the confident, driven pianist and aspiring composer is efficiently presented with quick shots and montages. Maybe a little too efficiently, since one feels unprepared for Ruthie telling Niki only she is on a path to a fulfilling life, and Niki explaining in one fell swoop his tragedy: a piano prodigy driven into a dark room for 2 years, not able to stand the sound of his own voice, and giving up any career besides that of a “mere” piano tuner.

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Niki suffers from hyperacusis, a rare and real, incurable auditory disorder that makes loud sounds unbearably painful.

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As Harry Horowitz, the master piano tuner for whom Niki works, Dustin Hoffman adds a bit of comedy, though the tone of the film is serious, if not bleak. Harry, beginning his slide into dementia, is the extrovert to Niki’s introvert. He regales Niki with his days as a jazz pianist (a bobblehead of Harry at his piano bounces on the dash of the van they drive around New York City) when he played alongside the greats, including Herbie Hancock. Hancock’s music provides a cool jazz soundtrack throughout, and the 80+ year-old still active musician makes a cameo appearance.

Niki (Woodall) can hear the safe's "fence" drop into place.

Enter the thugs. Led by Uri, former IDF operative and Israeli actor Lior Raz, a criminal crew figures they can use Niki’s acute hearing skills to crack safes: the tuner can hear the safe’s “fence” drop into place. Add Niki’s need for money to pay for Harry’s hospital stay, and you have the well-worn plot device of a naïve moral soul entrapped by a nasty, immoral, money-hungry gang.

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Equally implausible is that Niki’s hearing “disorder” can be a “super-power.”

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The crime spree portion of the script is dependent on the implausible, including a “Holocaust watch,” a French Jewish maestro, and an extended Korean family with a crypto wallet, the last designed to showcase Niki’s photographic memory. Equally implausible is that Niki’s hearing “disorder” can be a “super-power.” Cross-cutting is effective (he’s opening a safe and running to her concert; Marla [Tovah Feldshuh], Harry’s wife, turns in her seat to see if he’s yet arrived; Ruthie’s playing and conducting), then overdone.

Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu) and Niki (Woodall) exhibit some chemistry. Until she tells him only she is driving towards a worthy purpose in life.

Negatives aside (and they can be put aside), there’s a lot to like. Woodall is a terrific on-the-spectrum lead, a fresh face reminiscent of Matt Damon in “Good Will Hunting” (1997) and Ansel Elgort in “Baby Driver” (2017). Hoffman is the seasoned professional doing his thing—and not taking up too much space. The Niki-Harry duet is well-written; they are “chosen” family, their verbal sparring a sign of deep familiarity and shared respect. The restrained Liu is credible as the maestro-in-training as well as the love interest.

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Oscar-winning sound designer Johnnie Burn (“The Zone of Interest” [2023]) crafted the sounds we experience as Niki hears them.

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Best of all is the sound and cinematography, including intimate views of the innards of locks. Johnnie Burn, Oscar-winning sound designer (“The Zone of Interest” [2023], “The Favourite” [2018]), crafted the sounds we experience as Niki hears them: audio levels that drop significantly when Niki wears protective gear on the streets of Manhattan or that convey the swirling sonic suffering Niki experiences when his ears are unprotected.

On a meta level, “Tuner” asks what you would do if you woke up one morning and had lost your purpose, the obvious trajectory of your life suddenly irrelevant. That issue is there to mull, but it’s more fun just to watch and, most important, to listen.

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She says: It breaks no new ground, except the conceit of hyperacusis. But that’s a big exception.

He says: A companion liked that the story was lean and uncomplicated, without distractions.

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Date: 2026

Director: Daniel Roher

Starring: Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, Havana Rose Liu, Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh, Herbie Hancock

Countries: Canada, United States

Languages: English, Hebrew (some subtitled), Korean (some subtitled)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Other Awards: one nomination to date