A Tuesday morning post means I saw another Mystery Movie at Landmark Cinemas last night. Directed by Daniel Roher, Tuner stars Leo Woodall (White Lotus) as the piano tuner, Niki; Dustin Hoffman, who needs no introduction, as his mentor, Harry; Havana Rose Liu as Ruthie, Niki’s love interest: and one of my favorite character actors, Tovah Feldshuh as Marla, Harry’s wife.
The unexpected star? The “Harry” (Dustin Hoffman) bobblehead that lives in the van that Niki drives around. Also, any movie set in NYC should credit the city as a co-star. From Bushwick where Ruthie lives to palatial estates on Long Island and spacious penthouses in Manhattan, New York City shines.
Back to the movie…
Niki is given a special gift: perfect pitch and exceptional hearing, but it comes with a price: a disease, hyperacusis, which makes sounds like a fire truck or police sirens that are bearable for nomal people, are excruciatingly painful to him. You notice that he always wears earbuds, and sometimes large headphones when he enters a room. When a crook and his team discover that Niki’s special hearing ability makes him a crack safe-cracker (sorry couldn’t resist the pun!), and Niki needs some fast cash, he gets sucked into their world. You keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, and when it does, it’s not when you expect it, or what you expect. Mix in some romance with the talented composer and pianist Ruthie, and you get sucked in just like Niki.
I love a good heist movie, like Oceans 11 or The Italian Job, but this one is set at a different speed. It’s hard to characterislze ut as a heist movie because it is so much more. There are no crazy car chase scenes or action sequences. Instead, music becomes the theme, and not just because Niki and Harry are piano tuners. Ruthie’s music also plays a role. Niki and Harry appreciate the music, having tuned pianos for and played with jazz legends like Herbie Hancock, who has a cameo. The music is the backbone that keeps the movie in tune.
The film score was composed by Will Bates, while the on-screen music was produced by Marius de Vries. De Vries was behind such hits as Moulin Rouge, La La Land and Coda, another movie where hearing impairment is central to the movie’s theme. The way sound is portrayed in the movies you hear what Niki hears – the distortions, the chaos when his hearing is assaulted, and the deafening silence that follows.
Tuner, which was filmed in Toronto in 2024, debuted in August 2025 at the Telluride Film Festival, screened at the Torono International Film Festival, and was named to Canada’s Top Ten in 2025. It won Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film, while Woodall was nominated for Best Actor in a Canadian film by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.
This is Roher’s first feature film, but the Canadian native is a veteran documentary filmmaker, and I will be checking those out now. One of Roher’s documentaries, Navalny, won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film in 2023.
It is set for a limited theatrical release on May 22, 2026, and a full release on May 29, 2026. Tuner doesn’t fit the usual mold of action-packed thrillers that debut on Memorial Day weekend, but I think it will do very well for those that appreciate this kind of film.
Tuner will be available for early screenings on Sunday, May 17, only at Dolby Cinema at AMC Theatres, and I will definitely see it again just for the sound experience. With the music being such an integral part of the movie, seeing Tuner in a theater is a must.
You know I love a movie with an original script, a plot that makes you think, and some old music thrown in for my old soul. And look out for Leo Woodall – he is doing big things! I think this movie will age like fine wine. I’m rooting for Tuner.
Sravanthi Meka 