'Tuner' Review: Daniel Roher Trades Politics for Piano Keys in a Crime Drama That Plays Too Safe
- Alex Gilston
- Oct 12
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 28
By Alex Gilston - October 12, 2025
The surprise film is a tentpole event of the London Film Festival calendar. Rumours run a mock every year in the lead-up to the screening. Last year, Saturday Night was one of the biggest rumours, and it is what the film ended up being. This year, there were plenty of rumours, some thought the BFI might take a note out of the New York Film Festival’s book and show Marty Supreme. Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, was on people’s lips, and people even thought it could be LFF bestie Edgar Wright’s adaptation of Running Man. However, unlike last year, everyone was wrong. The surprise film was actually a surprise. Tuner is Navalny director Daniel Roher’s first foray into fiction films.
What is 'Tuner' about?
In Tuner Leo Woodall plays Niki White, who works as a piano tuner with his boss, and unofficial adoptive father, Harry Horowitz, played by Dustin Hoffman. Niki has an acute sensitivity to noise and is forced to wear earplugs at all times to help regulate the hustle and bustle of New York City. When his condition becomes advantageous to a group of underground criminals, and Harry starts to rack up a big medical bill, he begins to help them crack safes at rich people’s houses for a fee. When he meets Ruthie, played by Havana Rose Liu, and strikes up a relationship with her, juggling everything starts to take its toll. You could probably guess what happens generally in the rest of the narrative, as it’s a tale that has played out in so many different iterations, even just as recently as Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing. Despite the cliches, as a freshman effort, it is still an admirable attempt.
More inspirations are clear in Tuner’s construction. The editing is borrowed closely from Edgar Wright's repertoire. Quick and frenetic cuts are littered throughout, and there is a clear focus on the movement of objects; the safe cracking from the inside is a particular motif used throughout. The success of Sound of Metal has also played a part in Tuner’s formation. Sound of Metal has set a precedent for how hearing conditions are portrayed in film. At the time, the sound design was ground breaking. In Tuner, it doesn’t always land. The moments where Niki is exposed to high levels of sound are meant to be overwhelming, but in certain circumstances, the sound design went too far. Overall, Tuner feels like an amalgamation of lots of other films rather than one in its own right.
Leo Woodall proves that he can be a leading man in his role as Niki. His performance helps you root emotionally for Niki despite the lack of connection in other areas of the film. Dustin Hoffman has a strong presence, but there is too little of him to really get a handle on what he’s trying to get out of playing Harry. Havana Rose Liu does shine as Ruthie, bringing frustration and empathy in equal measure to the role.
There is one moment, more of a throughline, that really does work in Tuner. In the film’s opening scene, Niki and Harry are tuning a piano together. Niki wonders how Harry can help to tune the piano as he isn’t wearing his hearing aids, but Harry responds that it is more of a feeling. This deceptively simple interaction comes full circle in Tuner’s final scene, where Niki’s eardrums have been perforated so he can’t hear properly. He still proceeds to play the piano professionally in an incredibly moving way. This call back adds some much-needed emotive feelings to Tuner, and one can’t help but feel that it would have landed even harder if the rest of the film had been just as good.
Is 'Tuner' the arrival of a new vision — or an echo of others?
Overall, Tuner is an intriguing but uneven debut fiction feature from Daniel Roher. While it boasts flashes of stylish direction, kinetic editing, and a strong central performance from Leo Woodall, the film too often feels like a collage of influences rather than a work with its own distinct voice.
Tuner has not yet received a general UK release date, but it had its European premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 9, 2025.
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