Before I get on with this review, I’ve got to give a special shout out to my dad for picking out this movie for us to go and see. I’ve also got to thank my mom too for coming along with us, because she doesn’t like having any stressful tension in her moviegoing experience. Which is ironic, because that’s kind of what you need to make a good movie.

Anyways, we saw Tuner (2026), the newest feature film by Canadian filmmaker Daniel Roher. Starring Leo Woodall and the legendary Dustin Hoffman, Tuner is about a hard-of-hearing piano tuner Niki White, who fixes rich people’s pianos throughout New York City and upstate New York. One night, his mentor Harry Horowitz asks him to crack open a safe containing valuable items, and eventually Niki realizes he can use his carefully attuned hearing to help him to do the job. When he stumbles upon a heist in progress at a client’s house, he finds himself working for a group of thieves who acquire his safe-cracking services to steal from the rich.

You wouldn’t think a film about a piano tuner would be exciting, but Roher manages to make it so. He knows how to utilize sound design, editing, and creative camera movements to make each heist entertaining and charming, no matter how devious the thieves are. You also find yourself charmed by the thieves themselves; led by the imposing Uri, the trio appear to be menacing, but they’re actually sweethearts who love dogs and playing video games. If it weren’t for the crime, you can see them adopting Niki.

That being said, Niki’s surrogate family is with Harry, who loves telling stories of playing piano with Niki’s late father and tagging along on piano tuning appointments. For someone looking for a place to belong, Niki finds himself with a kindred spirit in Harry. It’s a nice way to ground a story that could easily cause one to suspend their disbelief. It’s easy to think you’re immune from falling into a life of crime when you have a support system, but when that system is in danger of falling apart, you do everything you have to can to keep it.

Even the love interest in Havana Rose Liu’s Ruthie provides a nice mirror to Niki. Typically the female love interests in heist films are collateral damage, or moral compasses that are abandoned at the last minute. But thanks to Roher and Robert Ramsey’s script, Ruthie becomes a character of her own, with her virtuoso piano skills complementing the hidden genius in Niki. The undeniable chemistry between the two also helps, and shows us a different side to the hustling Niki we see at the start.

Going from a low-level heist thriller to a family drama to a look into the ambitious world of classical music seems like a tall order to incorporate into a film. They’re very distinct settings that would make even an accomplished director furrow their brows. But Roher makes it look easy. He ties every narrative piece together with precision, making sure each character has enough screentime to matter and that audiences feel less like observers and more like participants. Roher also uses a clever blend of humor to tie the discordant settings together, while also remaining true to the characters and their personalities.

What I love about this film is that nothing feels done by accident. I know that’s true in every picture ever made, but Roher feels like he’s been doing this for years and is more than comfortable doing it for the next 50. My parents and I were on the edge of our seats for the whole thing, and not even the annoying couple in the row behind us could distract us. We were locked in from the start, listening to every note of Roher’s fine-tuned picture.

FURTHER THOUGHTS

• Jean Reno has a very brief role in this, but as usual, he kills it.
• The two henchmen in this film are in the running for Best Henchmen of All Time.
• English Breakfast Productions is behind Tuner, and as someone who loves English Breakfast tea, thank you very much.