At The Movies with James Phelan: Tuner

Film Review: Tuner

At this time of year, major film releases slow down to average mostly one blockbuster per week. It’s tough for smaller movies to exist and thrive in the shadow of big studio releases but every summer a few flourish.

The early part of this summer has seen a couple of low budget horrors ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ even eclipse several blockbusters at the box office. ‘Tuner’ isn’t in the same genre but it’s a cracking wee film about safe cracking. It splices together a crime story and romance in an unusual but attractive manner, while exuding an independent spirit.

As the biggest name on show, Dustin Hoffman features prominently in the trailers and publicity for the film. He plays a piano tuning business owner Harry who is mentoring a protégé called Niki (Leo Woodall). The younger man has incredibly sensitive ears, which means he is a natural for being note perfect at his job but he struggles massively with everyday and unexpected noise levels.

Wearing two different types of ear protectors, Niki is socially isolated by his aural condition but conversely has formed a surrogate family with Harry and his wife. However, when Harry falls ill, hospital bills pile up and Niki feels compelled to help. Even if that help happens to break the law. Because one fateful night working on a piano at a mansion, the silence Niki needs to work in is disrupted by a gang of thieves drilling into an upstairs safe.

Rather comically, Niki decides to assist the criminals just to ensure some silence. With his heightened hearing, Niki can detect otherwise imperceptible clicks of cogs and tumblers falling into place. Niki swings the safe door open without fuss or the use of heavy machinery. Naturally this really impresses the crime boss Uri (Lior Raz) who gives Niki a cut of the illicit haul.

Accepting the cash is clearly a deal with the devil but Niki immediately uses his ill-gotten gains as a way of paying down Harry’s spiralling medical costs. It’s a selfless motivation which anchors the audience’s empathy with Niki even as Uri recruits and exploits the freshly minted safe cracker. As played impressively by Raz, the charismatic and usually soft-spoken Uri is actually a security company owner who is regularly ripping off his own high-end clients.

It’s an intriguing scenario, which despite compelling and convincing acting, ultimately doesn’t really stack up from every storytelling angle. If Uri’s plan is to skim the contents of safes rather than noticeably empty them, why was he instructing his crew to drill the first safe? Uri has one great speech describing the super-rich as not having any certainty about what valuable items and loose cash are stashed in their various residences around the world. It’s a smashing monologue but the illogical lack of complication and consequences for Uri’s theft spree is a rare nagging downside of this film.

Concurrently with his criminal side hustle, Niki connects with a talented pianist at a prestigious music school. Their relationship is tenderly rendered but viewers are bracing themselves from the very outset for Niki’s two worlds to crash violently together. And it’s no spoiler to say that they do.

‘Tuner’ gets bonus points for its inventiveness throughout. Tellingly Uri’s way of overwhelming Niki is not putting a gun in his face. Instead, an airhorn is used as a coercive weapon. Equally the acting is universally excellent across the board.

The basic premise of skilled piano tuners being a poor underclass who get to vicariously access the world of the uber wealthy is a super smart starting point. Bizarrely, plot wise this film bears remarkable resemblance to ‘Baby Driver’ with a (relative) innocent being exploited by a crime kingpin. But fittingly this film feels classical rather than bubble-gum pop. 

This is a film in the key of life and very infrequent bum notes aside, it’s virtuoso entertainment.