'Tuner' is a pitch-perfect thriller
A piano tuner gets into safecracking in satisfying throwback drama
“Tuner” is a movie that demands to be heard on the big screen. Daniel Roher’s caper thriller does look great, with kinetic editing and big-city locations.
But it’s the sound that captivates, from Will Bates’ jazzy score to the clever sound design that puts you in the head of its protagonist, a former piano prodigy who suffers from a condition that makes him “allergic” to loud noises. I was reminded of “Sound of Metal,” and how Riz Ahmed’s performance and the sound design worked together to create a complete sensory experience.
Leo Woodall plays Niki, that one-time musical genius derailed by his sensitivity to sound. He goes through life wearing earplugs (and, at times, noise-cancelling headphones on top of those) to buttress himself from the cacophony of New York City. But his sensitivity to sound makes him excellent as a piano tuner, able to hear the slightest variation in a note.
Niki and his boss Henry (a delightfully cranky Dustin Hoffman) drive around the city in their van, repairing the pianos in recording studios and concert halls, where the instruments are played every day, and in the homes of the wealthy, where the pianos gather dust. It’s precision work, but the rich folks often treat Henry and Niki like blue-collar workers (one asks if, when they are finished with the piano, they could fix the toilet).
It’s such precision work, in fact, that Niki’s ear for an A minor turns out to be applicable in other areas. One evening, he’s working late on a piano in a mansion, where he hears a noise upstairs. He discovers that the security guys he had met earlier in the day are trying to drill into the owner’s safe. The noise of the drill is distracting. So Niki offers to crack the safe for them.
Impressed with his skill, the ringleader of the thieves, Uri (Lior Raz, charming and menacing), offers him some more safecracking jobs. And when Henry is hospitalized with mounting medical bills, Niki is suddenly motivated to make a lot of money fast.
Part of “Tuner” is a crime thriller, with Niki getting in deeper and deeper with Uri and his gang, until he gets to that one risky job that he knows deep down he shouldn’t do. But “Tuner” balances out that suspense with Niki’s personal drama, particularly his sweet romance with a composer, Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu). It’s inevitable, of course, that the two halves of his life are going to come into conflict, and the fun is in seeing exactly how.
Roher and co-screenwriter Robert Ramsey pay equal attention to both halves, filling the entire movie with rich character details and minor-key, lived-in performances. This is the sort of thriller they used to make in the ‘80s and ‘90s – maybe with Hoffman in the lead role.
Woodall also conveys Niki’s complex relationship with sound, how he’s immersed in the quietest note, or how an airhorn or overhead plane can feel like an act of violence.
The appealing relationship between Ruthie and Niki has some real shadings to it, especially when Niki’s jealousy at Ruthie living out the dream he once had comes to the fore. And the characters in the crime thriller storyline aren’t one-dimensional goons, like the baby-faced henchman who loves dogs.
This is Roher’s first dramatic feature after making several strong documentaries (“Navalny,” “Once Were Brothers”) and you can feel him getting excited at all the new tools at his disposal. Greg O’Bryant’s editing is crisp and musical, and the New York (or Toronto-playing-New-York) locations are well used.
He’s also got a star on the rise in Woodall, a British actor (“Nuremberg”) who reminded me of a young Matt Dillon or Bruce Willis in the way he suggests emotional vulnerabilities beneath a working-class facade. Woodall also conveys Niki’s complex relationship with sound, how he’s immersed in the quietest note, or how an airhorn or overhead plane can feel like an act of violence.
The ending turns on coincidence in a way that’s a little unsatisfying, and it’s disappointing that Hoffman fades into the background of the film once Henry gets hospitalized. But for fans of smart, thoughtful thrillers, “Tuner” will be music to their ears.
“Tuner” is now playing in some cities, and will expand to more on May 29. In Madison, it will play at AMC Fitchburg 18, Marcus Point and Marcus Palace.