Tuner – Review

Release Date – 29th May 2026, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 47 minutes, Director – Daniel Roher

Piano tuner Niki’s (Leo Woodall) sensitive hearing condition comes in use for unlocking safes, especially when needing to raise money for his boss’ (Dustin Hoffman) hospital bills, however it leads to trouble with a gang of thieves.

The trailer for Tuner has been played in front of almost every non-horror (and even then some horror) film I’ve seen for much of this year (and that’s no exaggeration). Whether it’s cinemas believing it has mass appeal or Black Bear trying to give a big push after the dismal box office of last year’s Christy – a film with some tonal surprises that deserved better financially – there’s a clear attempt to make people aware of the film’s existence. And indeed there should be plenty of appeal in the traditional tones and leanings of the thriller narrative at hand.

Even the presence of Dustin Hoffman as the father-figure boss, Harry, of Leo Woodall’s Niki brings more to those ‘traditional’ stylings. Hoffman’s presence is largely confined to the first 15-20 minutes, bringing a good handful of chuckles with him, as he and Woodall travel between lavish homes tuning largely unused pianos. However, Harry hasn’t raised his prices in 30 years and can’t afford sudden hospital bills after collapsing in a diner. Niki, who discovers early on that his sensitive hearing condition can help with unlocking safes, takes it upon himself to raise funds after helping a gang of thieves with their job so he can finish a solo job one evening.

The group become reliant on Niki, who continues in order to help Harry – and eventually his relationship with student composer Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu) – but the more reliant they become the tenser the situation gets. Director Daniel Roher and Robert Ramsey’s screenplay is uncomplicated but certainly packs in the thrills, alongside a pure entertainment factor. From the opening stages to almost the very end I sat with a big smile spread across my face from the pure enjoyment there is to be had from the slickness of the narrative.

There may be a slight stretching feeling in the final stages as the film wraps up each of its elements, but for the majority of the run-time there’s a simply entertaining film here. One that’s sold by the cast, particularly Woodall in the lead role, who keep up with the pacing of both the film and its music. The compositions which crop up throughout, by Marius De Vries – with score by Will Bates – have their own engaging nature that gets across the connection with sound, music and the simple piano that a number of the characters have. In fact, one of the climactic sequences, acting as one of the film’s tensest, is made all the more so by the music which both backs and is cut into it. Music and piano also highlight a different aspect of Niki’s condition, captured in a number of moments with strong sound design.

With Tuner there’s an attempt to make a film as smooth as possible and there’s a general success. It may not quite glide like some of the hands we see across the keys of a piano, but for the most part there are a good number of fast-paced thrills to be found. A traditionally told and feeling story with a good handful of chuckles along the way, it’s hard not to be entertained by it.

A traditional story that holds plenty to enjoy in its music, sound design and tension, Tuner is pure, uncomplicated entertainment with a good handful of chuckles along the way.