One of the best parts of attending festivals like TIFF and Sundance Film Festival are the unexpected discoveries you find during your time there. Often time these hidden gems leave an everlasting impression on you and maintain their festival high long after you return home and add more movies to your watchlist. “Tuner” is one of those films, a MOVIE movie in every sense of the word that draws from some of the greats and blends their strengths together seamlessly.
Packed with a propulsive script, a crowd pleasing premise and a star making performance in Leo Woodall, “Tuner” arrives with unassailable momentum and solidifies itself as can’t miss cinema. It’s like putting “Good Will Hunting” and “Thief” in a blender and adding a little jazzy score and some classical piano on top to spice things up.
Often times when a filmmaker heavily borrowing from great cinema mentioned above, it reveals their lack of unique vision and leans far more into being a carbon copy than something that seeks to builds upon its foundation. Thankfully, Daniel Roher knows what to keep and what to make his own, beautifully blending his new ideas to make “Tuner” a thrilling, heartfelt journey of crime and music. It’s a tense crime thriller, a tender odd-couple friendship, and a pitch perfect romance all rolled into one. Roher may shift tone and mood constantly, but like a classical piece of musical it swells and calms and soars without ever losing its core tempo. “Tuner” is relentlessly entertaining thanks to its smart direction and sharp script and the incredible chemistry of its cast.
Written and directed by Roher (“Navalny“), “Tuner” is his first feature film after winning an Oscar for his documentary work. It stars Woodall as Niki, a highly skilled piano tuning apprentice to Harry (Dustin Hoffman) who is also serves as a father figure to him. Niki’s has hyper sensitive hearing that comes with constant challenges but makes him an expert at hearing notes and piano tuning. After Harry ends up in the hospital and cannot afford to pay for medical care, Niki discovers that his hearing skills can be used to crack safes. As he enters the criminal underworld and begins a romantic relationship with talented piano student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), his life quickly gets turned upside down and the safe he can’t crack may be the only one to save him.
Woodall is simply phenomenal here, proving he’s a leading man performer bursting with charm and charisma. Roher asks him to do a lot in “Tuner.” He’s need to be a compelling protagonist, equal parts over confident yet vulnerable, guarded but raw, a heart of gold but a little selfish at times. That’s a whole of character to pull off and somehow Woodall is all of those things and more. He’s surrounded by an excellent supporting cast in Hoffman (who Roher wrote the role for specifically) and Havana Rose Liu, who both share different relationships with Woodall but all share excellent chemistry.
Its magnificent score by Will Bates adds another layer of electricity to an already electric film. The sound design is immersive and intense, putting the audience between ears that experience sound differently than everyone around him. It drops out suddenly, erupts with piercing sirens and booming cacophony that delivers a visceral reaction to every heightened sound you hear. “Tuner” knows when to turn it up and turn it down, and that clever use of dialing sound really makes you sit forward and invest all the way. Its script moves with breakneck pacing and gives equal care to each of its seemingly opposing tones and storylines. “Tuner” simply lacks for nothing across the board of great, crowd pleasing cinema. It is convention done right, sticking to the proven formulas of crime capers and simultaneously giving you everything you know while also giving you something that feels fresh and unique.
It may not be the flashiest of thrillers, but it is by far and away a film you won’t forget. It may be a collection of seemingly disconnected pieces but come together in perfect harmony and hits all of the right notes. It is rare that I leave a theater with a burning desire to immediately watch the film again, but “Tuner” left me with that sensation and I truly can’t wait to experience it again.
“Tuner” is can’t miss cinema, an unforgettable movie going experience that feels tailored made for my cinematic sensibilities and a film that more than sticks the landing with one of the best final lines and ending of any film you’ll see this year.
Don’t skip this one folks. Tune yourself to the pitch of “Tuner” and see one of the best hidden gems of 2026.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
“Tuner” is currently playing at the Sundance Film Festival, and will be in theaters May 29th. You can watch the trailer below.
