Sometimes we just need movies that follow familiar formulas but follow them well. There is perhaps no better example this year than Tuner, a film that knows what it wants to be and excels. Daniel Roher's narrative debut isn't breaking any new ground or doing anything fascinating, it simply offers a gripping story and a well crafted final product. I was excited for this based just on what I had heard from TIFF, and seeing that an Oscar winning documentary filmmaker in Roher was behind the camera only heightened my excitement.
The film follows Leo Woodall as Niki, a piano tuner who suffers from a condition that makes him allergic to loud noises. He works alongside an old family friend Harry (Dustin Hoffman), whose medical troubles put him in a tough place financially. During a late night tuning session interrupted by a group of robbers, Niki quickly learns his acute hearing can be used to crack safes. He is quickly thrown into a fast and thrilling world of crime, all while falling for a pianist name Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu).
While the premise does have inklings of Baby Driver, this is very much its own thing. Roher takes Niki's condition and uses it to create something constantly exciting. There's an energy to the editing that creates a terrific pace, and Niki's hearing is used throughout the film to craft some clever and narratively resonant sound editing. The sound work is somewhat reminiscent of Sound of Metal, something I'd consider high praise. This isn't an action movie like any Baby Driver comparison might suggest, but rather a fun and much more subtle crime thriller. There is an argument to be made that the film is a bit predictable, but that almost works in its favour in making it feel somewhat nostalgic.
Helping in that nostalgia is the casting of Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman's age old charm works wonders to help pull you into the story, even if he is largely sidelined after the first act. While his performance is strong, Woodall's Niki is a quiet and closed off protagonist, so having someone like Hoffman there to pull you in is a big help that winds up making you fall for the pair quite quickly. Also aiding Woodall's performance is Havana Rose Liu as his love interest. She is great in basically everything, and Tuner gives her enough screentime to give us a fully fleshed out and emotionally rich character. She is pulled between her drive for success and her connection with Niki, a dynamic deepened as Niki's decisions begin to spiral.
If you're looking for something that will break new narrative ground, Tuner might let you down. If you just want a really good crime thriller with a hint of romance and some sneakily unique filmmaking, definitely give this one a shot. 4/5
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