Tuner
Daniel Roher’s “Tuner” has a third act that takes it from a pretty good movie to a great one. There are unexpected twists, and an emotional catharsis that is wordless that had me captivated. Yes, we’ve seen this type of thriller before, but the specific narrative threads are done in a way that everything made sense, and the emotional connections were well-calibrated. This is a gem of a film.
Niki White (Leo Woodall) is a piano tuner. He is the apprentice of Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), whose abilities are diminishing as his hearing gets worse in old age. Niki has a hearing condition that requires him to always be wearing earplugs, but he has perfect pitch, and is a natural student. One day, after dinner with Harry and his wife, Marla (Tovah Feldshuh), he has to get into their personal safe when Harry has forgotten the combination. He figures it out, and finds himself helping a security team get into a safe on a job. They aren’t exactly a security team, however, and when financial difficulties come up, his new skills afford him chances for much more money.
A good person roped into crime is a trope as old as cinema. Roher and co-writer Robert Ramsay (whose previous film credits do NOT point to something this good) build the story out from this partnership between Niki and Harry, to when Niki has to go on some jobs solo, which is how he not only gets in with this security team, but when he meets a composition student (Ruthie, played by Havana Rose Liu) whom will become a romantic interest. Eventually, Niki is on his own, juggling his tuning work and cracking safes. We’re always conscious of his hearing issues, to where- when gunshots are fired, our first thoughts are with “what about his ears.” Obviously, something is likely going to happen, but when it does, that doesn’t make it any less shocking.
Roher is best known as a documentary filmmaker (such as the Oscar-winning “Navalny”)- this is his first narrative feature- and he understands the patience and control needed to craft this film from the characters first, and then build the story from there. As the lead, Woodall does a great job of getting us into the anxiety of Niki even without saying anything, and he has good chemistry with both Hoffman and Liu. Music is, naturally, a huge part of this, and whether it’s listening to a practice, other background music, or the score by Will Bates, music helps provide an emotional roadmap for the film. In the third act, as mentioned earlier, everything shifts, and what happens is narratives connect, as do fates, and Niki’s choices come with expected- and unexpected- consequences. How the film wraps them up is one of the most satisfying narrative experiences I think I might have this year. “Tuner” has perfect pitch.
