Movie Number 26 of 2026
The Movie: Tuner
The Cinema: The Kino, Collins Street
Runtime: One hour 47 minutes
Stars: 5
I went into this film blind and was blown away. I love when that happens. I knew there was a good chance that I'd like it. I mean, I like Leo Woodall and Dustin Hoffman. It's a New York story - and it's a bit offbeat. What I didn't see coming was the movie's soundscape, the soundtrack and the brilliant pace of this heist / thriller / drama. It's got a great pace and a huge heart.
Yet, Tuner has so much more. I love how this film was made, the story, the condition which makes Niki (Leo Woodall) both a character of sympathy, but this condition provides his special skill.
And the film's soundscape is extraordinary.
At the start of the movie, we meet Niki working with Harry (Dustin*9 Hoffman) in Harry's piano tuning business. Harry is a lovely octagenarian wide boy services the pianos of New York - well, Niki does the work, Harry naps.
We soon find out two things about Niki. Firstly, he has a condition, hyperacusis, which makes him hypersensitive to sound - almost any sound. Quiet sounds are fine, but anything louder than a couple of people talking and Niki's in pain. He wears earplugs most of the time - noise cancelling headphones for the rest.
When Harry falls ill, Niki makes it his mission to pay his hospital bills. Having found his super-sensitive hearing allows him to crack safes, he falls in with a dodgy security firm, who use his talents an pay him well.
In the background, he meets Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a music student at the conservatorium, who he meets on a tuning job. Ruthie is initially prickly, but things happen.
And of course, the safe cracking jobs are fine until they're not.
A wonderful set up for a heist movie.
A couple of things stood out for me. Firstly, the movie's soundscape. We get a good insight into what Niki is hearing - and it's amazing. I'd be putting this one up for a Best Sound Oscar. The sound track is also great, being a mix of original compositions, classical and jazz standards and a bit of Nina Simone for good measure.
Daniel Roher's script is punchy but laced with pathos. He also directed the film - and has done a great job with it, keeping the pace going while not overegging the sentimentality.
As somebody who sometimes struggles with noise sensitivity, I got this film - and left me feeling being seen.
It's seriously a great concept and a thoroughly enjoyable movie. It's on at most of the art house cinemas, but it's coming to the end of its run. Check it out when it gets onto the streaming services and thank me later.
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