My Review of Tuner (2025)

 

Written by Daniel Roher And Robert Ramsey

Directed by Daniel Roher 

Niki: "Tuning a piano is about creating harmony out of chaos, and to do that you've got to be comfortable with imperfection."

Yesterday, I opted for a crime themed movie and why not one with a bit of a musical twist? Well, not really a musical but let's say the piano did factor a lot in this film.

Mainly because two of the main characters - Niki White (Leo Woodall) and his mentor Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman) happened to be piano tuners. Niki was also once a talented piano player but having hyperacusis put a stop to those dreams.

While he might be sensitive to noises, the movie quickly revealed that Niki had a talent for openinh safes. This would end up being a useful thing when he made friends with former Soviet Union thieves, led by Uri (Lior Raz). Needless to say, Niki embarked on a life of crime and all because of one special skill he had.

To complicate things for Niki, there was also his romance with talented student pianist, Ruthie Waymon (Havana Rose Liu). It's a nice enough love story with strong feelings for both parties but the most that Niki went down the crime rabbit hole, the more tension that befell the pair.

Niki made the dumb mistake of giving Ruthie a stolen gift and it definitely caused problems for thd both of them. Niki did try to do right by Ruthie and even tried to go straight. His efforts were something of a mixed bag, though his actual piano talents were clearly on display by the end of the film.

- I liked Harry's wife, Marla (Tovah Feldshuh). Harry died over halfway into the movie.

- While Niki mentioning he was more talented a piano player to Ruthie was mean, he wasn't exactly wrong.

- Standout music: Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man.

- Chronology: Present day New York City.

Tuner (2025) turned out to be an engaging crime story with a musical bent. Leo Woodall and Dustin Hoffman were both on good form. Definitely didn't too much fine tuning.

Rating: 7 out of 10