R | 1h 49m | Romance, Comedy, Drama, Heist, Thriller | 2026
A low-budget indie, “Tuner” defies easy categorization—call it a heist-romcom-thriller-musical. It features two kinds of leading-man star power: Dustin Hoffman for the old-school Hollywood, and the up-and-coming British Leo Woodall projecting quiet charisma à la Tom Hardy. This is Woodall’s first leading role after years of support work.
“Tuner” is set in the little-known world of Manhattan piano tuners. As potentially boring as that might sound, “Tuner” is quite a fun ride. The reticent young Niki White (Woodall) does most of the actual tuning, while Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), his perennially kvetching mensch of a mentor, goes along for the ride. They drive around in Harry’s van to prestigious concert venues and McMansions, where Steinway, Bösendorfer, and Fazioli grand pianos reside (mostly as status symbols in the latter locations) in various states of imprecise intonation.
Harry’s fee is $5,000. Business is good. Occasionally, clueless and condescending wealthy housewives ask if for $100 extra, the two men can fix a plumbing problem after the piano’s done. Harry says, “We’re piano tuners! Make it $500, and we’ll talk.”
The Supernormal Ability of Hyperacusis
As a child I always enjoyed those fairy tales where the archetypal young man, out to seek his fortune, slowly gathers a band of misfit travel companions. One, for example, hops along on one leg, with his other leg tied up with a bit of string, behind one ear.
Why this oddness? It’s because if he puts the other foot on the ground, he will immediately run around the entire globe in under a minute. The eye-patch-wearing guy can see through brick walls if he removes the patch. When all six of the young man’s new friends switch from disability mode to letting their various abilities run wild—look out.
In “Tuner,” Niki wears sound-muffling headphones on top of medical earplugs, due to an auditory disability called hyperacusis. It makes him unable to tolerate loud noises. He also has perfect pitch.
As a child, Niki hoped to become a concert pianist. He eventually meets musical composition student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu) in a rehearsal hall where she’s preparing for an important concert.
Querying as to Niki’s extensive ear gear, Ruthie finds his explanation odd. Offhandedly, as he’s packing up, she challenges his musical acuity by playing a series of complex chords on the piano. Niki nonchalantly blows her socks off with a virtuoso display of audial precision. She hits a massive chord as he’s walking out the door: “That’s every note except F-sharp.”
How Can a Composer Not Fall for an Auditory Genius?
They become a couple of course (with the yenta-ish Harry playing matchmaker). One night, Niki is out tuning a mansion piano. When he goes upstairs to investigate the loud drilling noises disturbing his ability to work, he stumbles upon a group of employees he’d met earlier. They’re actually burglars, hiding in plain sight, now attempting to drill open their employer’s bedroom safe.
They aren’t succeeding. Niki, wanting them to stop the noise, tells them of the YouTube video he’d watched about opening combination locks using telltale tumbler clicks in tandem with a powerfully enhanced, electronic sound detector. He also absentmindedly reveals that he himself happens to have just such a sound detector. Built-in.
They of course immediately goad him into opening the safe. Add a pinch of self-curiosity as to whether he can actually do it, along with a touch of showing off—and the safe stands no chance. Grateful robber-boss Uri (Lior Raz) nonchalantly slips Niki a sizeable stack of Benjamins, with the hoary heist-movie invite: “Call me if you ever want to make some real money.”
Niki would normally have no interest in swerving into thug life, but when Harry takes ill and can’t pay the $36,000 hospital bill—Niki reluctantly uses his supernormal ability with a Robin Hood intent. Of course, once you dance with the devil, you can’t quit. When Niki tries to back out, Uri casually observes: “Your girlfriend, she’s got beautiful hands.”
Conclusion
“Tuner” showcases the substantial talent of first-feature director Daniel Roher (who already won an Oscar for his 2022 documentary “Navalny”), along with the rising stars of Woodall and actress-model Liu. Much screen time is devoted to the subdued-but-masculine Woodall’s luxuriant eyelashes—the young ladies will take note.
The soundtrack, which mixes classical music and jazz with electronic underpinnings, is captivating. Hoffman is Hoffman-lite. Harry has a bobblehead of himself on the dash of his van, and Hoffman’s performance is the human version of the bobblehead. It doesn’t have much to do except bobble and smirk Hoffman’s trademark, often-insufferable-but-always-cute smirk. If Walter Matthau were still around, I’d like to see what he’d have done with the role. But Hoffman is a legend in his own time, and I look forward to seeing him do at least one more top-flight, “Rain Man”-type turn.
‘Tuner’
Director: Daniel Roher
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Leo Woodall, Havana Rose Liu, Tovah Feldshuh
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 49 minutes
Release Date: May 29, 2026
Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
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