The jug-man, the box-man, the yegg—the safecracker was once a key component to any compelling heist thriller and one that has become increasingly quaint in a world of digital encoding or biometric security. Along with co-writer Robert Ramsey, filmmaker Daniel Roher breathes some new life into the trope with his narrative feature debut,
Tuner. Leo Woodall stars as Niki, a former child prodigy pianist who suffers from a incapacitating sensitivity to sound that both forces him to wear dual sets of hearing protection and makes him one of the finest piano tuners in New York. The film opens with a series of scenes showing Niki and his boss/mentor Harry, played by a cantankerous Dustin Hoffman, plying their trade for a largely wealthy clientele who have little appreciation or understanding of what it is the two men actually do. In an attempt to help Harry recover his hearing aids after he forgets his own safe combination, Niki finds he has a facility for hearing combination lock tumblers fall into place after he spends all night watching YouTube tutorials. Niki doesn't give this newfound ability much thought until Harry suffers a severe heart attack and his wife (Tovah Feldshuh) confesses that they've let their insurance lapse. Niki falls in with some security "consultants" who have a lucrative side-gig robbing select valuables from Niki's same affluent customers when they realize how useful Niki's talents can be. In the midst of all of this, Niki meets a young composer and pianist, Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), who initially finds him obnoxious but falls for his brooding charms after he saves her waterlogged piano. For a time, Niki rides high on the thrills of larceny and young romance, but his criminal activities take a darker turn and his duplicity begins to catch up to and affect the people he cares most about.
There is much to commend about Tuner. It's well composed and Roher employs both montage and sound design effectively resulting a film that's largely engaging. The cast is terrific; the camera loves both Woodall and Liu and there are some excellent supporting character turns as well. I was very happy to see a small role from C.S. Lee in one of Tuner's more sinister sequences. The premise is undoubtedly cool and there's some appreciation of Harry and Niki being men out of time—whether that be as piano tuners, jazz and classical music aficionados, or Niki's old-school safe-cracking skills. Also, the film takes place in NYC in autumn which endears itself to me rather easily. Having said that, the whole piece does wind up feeling a tad underdeveloped. The reliance on montage makes for fun viewing but renders some of the relationships and ideas somewhat superficially. I'm enough of a crime film fiend to always want deeper details regarding criminal enterprises but even the dramatic turns in Niki's and Ruthie's relationship come off as sudden and clunky. The plot is composed of familiar beats but while the climax and finale contain some surprises, they're more inconclusive than revelatory. Still, Tuner makes for some mostly enjoyable viewing and is one of the low/mid budget genre pieces intended for adult audiences managing to claw its way into theaters. It also has some genuinely hardboiled moments which make it an easy one to recommend if you're looking for some pre-blockbuster season counter programming.
TUNER opens in theaters this weekend
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