Tuner (dir. Daniel Roher)

by Jack Martin | May 27, 2026

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 107 mins

UK Distributor: Black Bear Films

UK Release Date: 29 May 2026

WHO’S IN TUNER?

Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, Havana Rose Liu, Jean Reno, Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh, Nissan Sakira, Gil Cohen, C.S. Lee, Rek Lee, Ari Cohen Mann

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Daniel Roher (director, writer), Robert Ramsey (writer), Michael Heimler, Teddy Schwartzman, JoAnne Sellar and Lila Yacoub (producers), Will Bates (composer), Lowell A. Meyer (cinematographer), Greg O’Bryant (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A piano tuner (Woodall) finds a dangerous side-hustle as a criminal safecracker…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON TUNER?

It’s a shame that Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver – the fast-paced tale of a young criminal with hearing issues and a passionate connection to music – isn’t remembered as fondly by audiences due to the fact that it stars not one but two alleged sexual predators, because once you remove that problematic aspect it’s a great action film with a killer soundtrack, memorable characters and performances, and some of the best-ever use of Wright’s kinetic filmmaking style.

One would like to think that Tuner, from director and co-writer Daniel Roher, is a safer version of Baby Driver, for it too is a fast-paced tale of a young criminal with hearing issues and a passionate connection to music – and, as a bonus, features only one main actor with misconduct allegations against them – and replaces the high-octane action with gentler, more intimate moments of character-based drama. However, that would somewhat undermine the film as its own entity, and as such it’s a charming if somewhat conventional ride that’s pleasant enough for a breezy, mostly harmless watch.

The film quickly introduces us to Niki (Leo Woodall), a young man who assists his aging mentor Harry (Dustin Hoffman) on jobs tuning the pianos of wealthy clients across the New York area. Unlike most of his clients, who don’t even play their pianos and just keep them out for display, Niki was once a gifted musical prodigy until he developed a hearing condition known as hyperacusis, which causes one to become extremely sensitive to loud or even mild everyday noises. He soon discovers that his condition makes him extremely apt at hearing the mechanical locks inside tightly closed safes, and when he becomes desperate for some extra cash he is persuaded by Uri (Lior Raz), the leader of a criminal gang posing as a security company, to use his sharp hearing skills to crack open safes containing priceless valuables. Things get a bit more complicated, though, when Niki meets and falls for Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a music student whose talent matches and possibly even surpasses the one that he once flaunted.

The film marks documentarian Roher’s narrative directorial debut after his Oscar-winning non-fiction political thriller Navalny, and it has the bearings of a filmmaker who clearly wears his influences on his sleeve, to where it’s hard to tell whenever his own voice becomes apparent. Going back to Baby Driver, there are more than just plot similarities as Tuner also features some energetic and accurately timed editing which illustrates the slick rising tension in certain scenes, and there are even one or two times when it even uses the same piece of music on the soundtrack, suggesting that not just Roher but also co-writer Robert Ramsey (who’s no stranger to crime comedies, having also penned the Eddie Murphy prison movie Life and the 2002 Tim Allen vehicle Big Trouble) had Wright’s movie on endless repeat while developing their own script. As a result, you’re left thinking more about the latter film than you are this one, and how it took a few more storytelling and filmmaking risks than Roher’s film which, try as he does to subvert some typical tropes, feels less willing to step out of its comfort zone.

In fairness, though, Tuner’s comfort zone is so cosy and inviting that you can understand why it would want to stay within it. Roher and Ramsey inject plenty of sweetness into their story as Woodall’s Niki, who for all intents and purposes is a decent enough guy slowly consumed by his moonlighting criminal career, is a character who quickly wins you over with a boyish charm and even a savant-like ability to identify exact piano notes in complex melodies, but then has you genuinely fretting over his less-wise choices later on, particularly as the heists he partakes in suddenly get more violent. Woodall also proves himself to be a formidable leading man with a natural likeability that allows the viewer to see his strengths while also not shying away from his more visible flaws, and his easy chemistry with the likes of Havana Rose Liu and Dustin Hoffman – who, while not on-screen as much, steals scenes with the gentle charisma that made him a cinema icon in the first place – lends him a strong screen presence that goes well beyond his pretty-boy looks.

The story itself is fairly predictable, save for a few brutal developments later on, and relies on tropes that feel a bit dated, even for the kind of movie that it’s attempting to be (without spoilers, there is a race to a music recital in this movie). There are also some beats which feel too coincidental for its own good, with certain characters just happening to be involved in certain activities that come back to haunt not just our protagonist but close figures around them. It’s far from deep when it comes to its characters, and by the end you’re left feeling like there could have been more to these people and what makes them tick, beside being the acceptable archetypes that they come across as.

But the important thing is that, while Tuner isn’t a heavily complex film by any means, it is an enjoyable one that coasts on its charm and swiftness without losing its audience. It may be no Baby Driver, but it reaches a high enough crescendo that makes it a formidable spiritual successor.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Tuner is an enjoyable if conventional crime caper that boasts enough pleasant charm, personified by formidable leading man Leo Woodall, to see it through its trope-heavy and at times redundant narrative.