Movie Review: ‘Tuner’

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Review by James Lindorf

Daniel Roher announced himself to the world with “Navalny,” his Oscar-winning documentary about the Russian opposition leader. That film demonstrated a rare talent for pacing and complex character development under pressure, and those same qualities carry over into “Tuner,” his first narrative feature. “Tuner” and its focus on sound is an interesting companion to Roher’s last film, “Blink,” which followed a family facing severe visual impairment. While no one would confuse this story with one of his real-life profiles, the craft behind the camera feels just as assured as anything in his documentary work. Black Bear brings “Tuner” to New York and LA on May 22nd before opening wide on May 29th.

Niki White (Leo Woodall) is a gifted young piano tuner whose once-promising musical career was derailed by Hyperacusis. This condition makes him acutely sensitive to sound. He now moves quietly through New York alongside his mentor Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), tuning Steinways for the city’s elite. While working late one night at a particularly pompous client’s request, Niki runs into Uri (Lior Raz), a successful immigrant businessman who moonlights as a thief. Niki’s heightened hearing makes him the ideal safecracker, and what starts as a way to get Uri out of his hair becomes a lifeline when Harry winds up in the hospital.

Complicating matters further is Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a composition student with whom Niki begins dating, and Marius Maissner (Jean Reno), the legendary maestro Ruthie hopes to work for as an apprentice. The supporting cast includes Tovah Feldshuh as Harry’s wife, Marla, and Nissan Sakira and Gil Cohen filling out Uri’s crew.

One of the film’s most ambitious elements is its sound design, which attempts to pull the audience directly into Niki’s world. Earlier this year, “Undertone” used sound as its primary weapon, building dread through what characters heard rather than what they saw, and it was the most impressive thing I had seen all year. “Sound of Metal” did something similar and devastating with Ruben’s hearing loss, forcing the audience to experience his deteriorating world firsthand. “Tuner” belongs in that conversation. Loud sounds assault without warning; silence descends suddenly. Because Niki can hear things from further away than most, or is constantly wearing headphones, sounds can be distant, making the audience strain to decipher the provided information. It is an immersive and occasionally disorienting experience that keeps you inside the character’s condition rather than simply observing it from a distance.

Niki is a man of few words, as though speaking itself might trigger his condition. He is talented, sweet, loving, and bitter in equal measure, though Roher could have made more of his sadness to let Woodall shine on every level. Still, Woodall is dynamic throughout, bringing nuance to a character who communicates as much through stillness as through action. He may not quite launch into the stratosphere with this role. Still, he has the makings of the next Taron Egerton, a genuine talent capable of carrying a film without conforming to conventional movie star expectations.

Dustin Hoffman’s presence may cause unease in some viewers, given what emerged about him nearly a decade ago. If you are unaware, have moved on, or can separate the art from the artist, what you will find is a wonderful performance that stands entirely on its own merits. Raz is equally impressive as Uri, a villain whose motivation, pure greed dressed up as ambition, is a little thin. There is a moment when he deflects Niki’s perfectly reasonable suspicion by playing on our fears of being labeled prejudiced, even though it was exactly what he was doing. It is a clever character beat, even if the underlying logic doesn’t fully hold. What does hold is the threat he projects. Uri turns on a dime from a jovial thief who funds a techno club in his warehouse to an absolute terror when Niki steps out of line. When he makes a threat, you believe it.

The romance between Niki and Ruthie has real chemistry, and Liu handles the role beautifully. You understand completely why Niki would fall for her. The problem is that too much of their relationship is built in montage, compressing an already short time frame, a month or so, into seconds of screen time. Even Ruthie points it out when Niki gives her an overly extravagant gift. By the time Niki is putting his life on the line for her, you need to believe in that love more than the film has earned.

“Tuner” is like your favorite remix. The melody is familiar. A good person is pulled into a criminal world, loses control of the situation, and watches helplessly as the disparate parts of their life are set on a collision course. Fans of “Baby Driver” or “Breaking Bad” will recognize the DNA immediately. What Roher and co-writer Robert Ramsey do is change the tempo and arrangement just enough to make it exciting all over again. Niki is not a criminal by nature or ambition; he is a good young man trying to find his way after life pulled him from his planned path, who becomes desperate when Harry ends up in the hospital and finds himself in over his head before he fully understands what he has agreed to. New York provides a plausible enough home for this grouping of piano tuners, classical musicians, and high-end thieves. However, any major international city would have served just as well. The outcome feels inevitable, but you can’t help but care and hope for a happy ending, even though you know Niki can’t have it all. “Tuner” is a confident and engrossing debut from a filmmaker who clearly knows how to build tension around a complex character. Its sound design alone is worth the price of admission, and Woodall, Hoffman, and Raz give it the performances it deserves. A stronger romantic foundation and a villain with more compelling motivations would have pushed it further, but what is here is more than enough. “Tuner” earns a 4.25 out of 5.

Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|Brief Nudity|Some Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Limited Theatrical): May 22nd, 2026
Release Date (Wide Theatrical) May 29th, 2026
Runtime: 1h 49m
Director: Daniel Roher
Producer: JoAnne Sellar, Lila Yacoub, Teddy Schwarzman, Michael Heimler
Screenwriter: Robert Ramsey, Daniel Roher
Distributor: Black Bear
Production Co: Elevation Pictures, English Breakfast Productions, Black Bear