"Tuner" Movie Review

While the names Leo Woodall and Havana Rose Liu, the lead co-stars of this little film, may not ring any bells or put people in seats, the names Jean Reno, Tovah Feldshuh, and Dustin Hoffman still have some luster. Thankfully, that luster is not wasted in this little gem of a movie. It is so nice to see Mr. Hoffman again for the first time in almost 15 years since Little Fockers — giving him a pass for Megalopolis.

We’ve seen this movie before — think Baby Driver — with a very cookie-cutter and predictable storyline. But thanks to some really solid performances, this was a nice surprise.

Niki (Woodall) works as a piano tuner with his lifelong friend Henry (Hoffman). Niki is unaffected by the world around him and isolates himself due to a rare allergy to loud noises. He wears earplugs 24/7 and literally passes out if someone near him screams too loudly. Heaven forbid someone blows an air horn or fires a gun anywhere close.

Just after Niki meets the beautiful-looking and beautifully talented Ruthie (Liu), he gets mixed up with a gang of high-end burglars. You see, the flip side of Niki’s auditory anomaly is that he has superhero-level hearing — hence, his super-sensitive eardrums. With that, he discovers an uncanny knack for safecracking by listening to the lock tumblers. He falls in with the wrong guys and suddenly finds himself breaking into homes and safes, making more money in one night than most piano tuners earn in a month. He uses the money to help pay down his best friend’s mounting hospital bill and eventually to nab a pearl watch for his new girlfriend.

One thing leads to another, and Niki’s worlds collide, forcing him to face one of his victims while telling Ruthie about his nocturnal side hustle.

The film takes some uncreative shortcuts to get us where we need to be, and even though the story unfolds exactly as expected, it’s still a fun ride getting there and worth the effort.

- Paul Rosen