New to Me is a series here at The Nerds Templar where we discuss a film that has been out for a while. It’s most likely available on home video or streaming services, but it’s our first time seeing it. Hence, it’s “New to Me“!
While watching Tuner all I could think about was how much hype and awards buzz the film would have if a Safdie brother’s name was on it. It very much feels like a Marty Supreme or Uncut Gems or Good Time. It takes place in New York and the main character gets in over his head. The major difference for me though is I thoroughly liked Tuner and I can’t say that about any of those other films. So for the film itself it’s unfortunate it won’t get the awards nominations a Safdie movie does, but fortunately for me, it’s a much more enjoyable experience.
The film is about a piano tuner named Niki played by Leo Woodall. He works for Dustin Hoffman’s Harry Horowitz tuning pianos around New York. Niki was a piano prodigy, but suffers from hyperacusis, a hearing disorder that makes his life miserable. Loud noises drive him insane and he gave up playing the piano despite still having perfect pitch. He’s doing the best he can in life, meets a music student named Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu) and is just trying to live day by day. When Harry finds himself in the hospital with massive debt, Niki gets involved with the type of people you shouldn’t get involved with. As he uses his hearing ability to crack safes, the money starts flowing, but it escalates and Niki finds himself in over his head.
If it was a Safdie film Niki would be played by Timothée Chalamet and he’d get all kinds of awards talk. Unfortunately for Woodall he doesn’t have Timothée’s name recognition despite giving just as good of a performance. I’m hoping Woodall (and the film) at least get buzz on the independent film awards circuit. This is the third film I’ve seen him in over the past year, Nuremberg and another film that will fly under the radar this year, A24’s Tony.
What I like most about the movie is that despite being able to figure out where the movie is eventually heading, the pacing keeps the movie rolling along effortlessly. A lot of these types of movies end up with frenetic pacing to rival the situation the lead character finds himself in. What I like about the pacing mixed with Woodall’s performance is that despite being in a chaotic situation, the character is always grounded. He’s not neurotic or anxious. Maybe it’s the addition of the hearing disorder that grounds him, but the character never feels like a trope that most of these lead characters end up as (Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems I’m looking at you). The movie moves smoothly without feeling frantic or unrealistic.
The love interest helps keep Niki grounded as well. The relationship development between Niki and Ruthie feels realistic. She’s on edge trying to finish her musical piece and impress a maestro. He’s a musical prodigy that feels like his life has been stolen from him because of his issue, but you can see these two together in real life. They are almost like Matt Damon and Minnie Driver’s characters in Good Will Hunting where he’s the down on his luck genius and she’s the student figuring out life being amazed at just how easy this stuff is to these gentlemen. They feel authentic and the relationship never comes across as forced.
Tuner was a nice, little surprise I watched on DVD through the Boston Library (side note, if you aren’t watching movies through your local library on physical media or in some cases streaming, you’re missing out on a free service). The entire cast is solid and not one character feels out of place or unnecessary. The director, Daniel Roher, is known for Academy Award winning and award worthy documentaries and I believe this is his first feature. I’m curious to see what he does next because I thought he handled the film extremely well. Leo Woodall impressed me and I hope his career continues in this direction. I haven’t enjoyed a ton of films in 2026 so this might crack my top 10 by the end of the year.
