A hearing-impaired young adult who gets sucked into the world of crime with a “Unsquare Dance” needle drop; One would think this describes 2017’s Baby Driver, but it also aligns directly with the new Daniel Roher film, Tuner. Despite the obvious parallels between the two films, the film manages to find a style of its own to make it stand out among similar films in its genre.

As stated previously, the film follows Niki White (Leo Woodall), a piano tuner with hyperacusis who falls into the criminal underworld after accidentally witnessing a robbery during his shift. Using his heightened sense of sound to crack open safes for his crew of criminals, he dives deeper into the crime ring as he attempts to make a life for himself as well as pay off the medical bills for his work associate, Harry Horowitz, played by Dustin Hoffman. Also entering his life is young pianist Ruthie, played by Havana Rose Liu, and as their relationship grows stronger, Niki struggles between a life of happiness and one on the edge of collapse.

There isn’t anything about the plot of Tuner that is changing the game for thrillers, but Daniel Roher’s confident direction does wonders in making the derivative plot highly entertaining. From the intimate close-ups to the tonal balance between comedy and thrills, Roher’s razor-sharp filmmaking style makes what could’ve been a boring slog a dynamic cinematic experience. While there aren’t many shoot-outs or chase sequences, Roher somehow manages to find high tension within the smallest places. Niki finds himself in dangerous situations, but it’s his inner turmoil that the film finds most compelling, yielding the strongest conflicts and most heightened moments of tension. A thriller with a low number of action set pieces and kill count would have to do a lot to win over the viewer, but Tuner finds all the best ways to satisfy the viewer.

Leo Woodall is slowly becoming one of the strongest actors in his generation, and his role as Niki continues this trajectory. Woodall portrays a quiet, yet strong-willed protagonist with utmost confidence. Although the film does a good job of eliciting empathy from his backstory and current situation, Woodall’s passionate work elevates his character in ways that a screenplay could never do. A scene at the end, involving a piano, shows his true peak as an actor, serving as the perfect physical and emotional release for the character, and is effortlessly captivating. In a world where late-20s male actors like Jacob Elordi and Timothée Chalamet are on the rise, Leo Woodall deserves to be viewed on just as high a pedestal, and his work in Tuner is proof of that.

One of the most integral aspects of success is strong editing and sound design, and Tuner delivers in spades. The film uses music as the tempo, whether diegetic or nondiegetic. It synchronizes with the editing to give the film a fast rhythm, making the near-two-hour runtime fly by. Not only does the music and sound work within the filmmaking elements, but it also sounds excellent throughout. The robbery scenes, in particular, have incredible sound design, with the loud, precise ticks of the safe making it appear as if the viewer is cracking it alongside Niki. While some might consider the use of sound and editing “obvious,” it serves as a great way to create immersion that otherwise wouldn’t be there.

Films can borrow premises from prior works as long as they have a singular style and a new angle on the story, and while Tuner succeeds mostly in these respects, it left me wanting more overall. Themes of mental health, love, and purpose are discussed throughout, but are surface-level at best. Especially in the third act, it appeared that the film prioritized tension over delving deeper into the characters. Although the characters had overall development, the film lacked the originality and vision found in other aspects of filmmaking.

The familiar premise of Tuner may be easy to roll your eyes at, but the competent filmmaking by Daniel Roher and crew, and the magnetic lead performance by Leo Woodall, made this more than a worthy watch. With incredible sound design and editing, there is more than enough worthwhile filmmaking to make it worth seeking out in the theater. I’ll take a film like this over another IP movie any day!

Tuner will release in theaters nationwide on May 29.

Rating: 7/10

Oscar Prospects:

None.