Tuner review
By Joel Humphries · Watched 05.28.26
★★★★½ 4.5 / 5
Spoiler-free review
Tuner wraps a heist around an unusually warm story of music, loss and rebuilding a life after talent no longer gives it direction. Leo Woodall plays a former piano prodigy whose extreme hearing lets him crack safes by ear, but his charisma, the gentle mentorship at a piano-tuning shop and a naturally developing romance matter more than the mechanics of crime. Classical music, jazz and conversations about both give the film its pulse, with Herbie Hancock appearing as a welcome grace note. The plot is not revolutionary or difficult to predict. The people are funny, emotionally honest and such good company that reinvention hardly matters.
Full review — contains spoilers
I loved this movie.
Tuner is basically a heist movie wrapped inside a slice-of-life drama about music, loss, and finding a purpose after your life doesn't go the way you planned. The setup is great. Niki White is a former piano prodigy with extreme auditory sensitivity and hearing that is so good he can crack safes by ear. Naturally, this eventually leads him into a life of crime.
What makes the movie work isn't really the heist plot, though. It's the characters. Leo Woodall is incredibly charismatic as Niki. Harry Horowitz, his mentor in the piano tuning business, is funny and warm. Marla is charming. The romance between Niki and Ruthie develops naturally and gives the movie a lot of heart. I enjoyed spending time with all of these people.
The music is a huge part of why this works. Classical music, jazz, discussions about music, people arguing about music, people falling in love through music. Herbie Hancock showing up was a nice surprise. The soundtrack and the performances give the entire film a warmth that carries it through even when the plot isn't doing anything particularly surprising.
One thing I really liked is that Niki doesn't get drawn into crime because he's greedy. Harry loses his insurance, the bills start piling up, and Niki starts using his unusual talents to help Harry and Marla keep their heads above water. It gives the heist elements a lot more emotional weight than they otherwise would have had.
What I liked most is that the movie gradually reveals that Niki's greatest loss wasn't really losing his parents. It was losing his ability to be an artist. Everything else in the story grows out of that wound, and it gives the character more depth than you initially expect.
There isn't anything revolutionary here. You can see most of the plot developments coming. But sometimes a movie doesn't need to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes it just needs to be well-made, charming, funny, and emotionally honest.
This is one of the best movies I've seen this year. If you like heist movies, New York City movies, jazz, classical music, or just spending time with likable characters, I highly recommend it.