‘Tuner’ review: Leo Woodall of ‘White Lotus’ breaks out with NYC-set indie

For anyone who thinks they don’t make them like they used to, say hello to “Tuner,” a beautifully calibrated crime-romance with shades of “Thief” and “Good Will Hunting” and a terrific star turn from Leo Woodall, who anchors the ensemble. “Tuner” is the narrative feature debut of Daniel Roher, the acclaimed documentary filmmaker whose “Navalny” won the Oscar in 2023. But with “Tuner,” he proves he can capably play in another key, while delivering one of the freshest surprises of the year.

Roher and co-writer Robert Ramsay craft a classically structured screenplay about a talented piano tuner who stumbles into a life of crime, upon which Roher, editor Greg O’Bryant, and composer Will Bates embroider jazzy rhythms and inflections, inspired by the musical world our characters inhabit.

Woodall, the actor who pulled focus in “Nuremberg” and “The White Lotus,” stars as Niki, a young piano tuner working under his mentor and surrogate father, Harry (Dustin Hoffman), who has the connections and the gift of gab. Brooding Niki, meanwhile, has the skill and the perfect pitch. They make for an amusing odd couple entering the inner sanctums of the uber-wealthy in the New York metro area, often asked to do extra maintenance tasks. Their relationship and banter are charming, but it’s clear that Niki has a hunger for more in this life.

Through thoughtful exposition told visually and through performance, we learn that Niki has a hearing disorder called hyperacusis, an extreme sensitivity to sound and “uncontrolled acoustic environments.” It’s not until almost halfway through the film that he names the condition, but we see that he constantly wears specialized earplugs and over-ear protection most of the time, and that his hearing greatly affects how he encounters the world.

Roher brings us inside his head via the work of Academy Award-winning sound designer Johnnie Burn (“The Zone of Interest”), who mixes the outside noise according to how Niki manages it, creating a deeply subjective viewing experience. His condition is both a superpower and a vulnerability, as we see when he discovers a dangerous new skill, cracking safes, with his unique ability to hear the tumblers of the lock moving internally.

A rueful look crosses Niki’s face when he opens his first safe to rescue Harry’s hearing aids, as if he knows this can’t lead anywhere good, and indeed it does not. His first job comes by accident, when he stumbles upon a crew of Israeli burglars masquerading as a security company, led by smooth-talking Uri (Lior Raz). Niki just wants them to stop the racket they’re making with their drill, so he quickly manipulates the lock and gets back to tuning.

But Uri spots talent, and soon Niki will desperately need the money when Harry lands in the hospital. Niki finds himself running with the safe-cracking crew, lifting items that wealthy people might not miss, while simultaneously romancing a beautiful and talented composer and pianist, Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), whom he meets while tuning pianos at her conservatory.

For the purposes of this screenplay, the world is small and filled with coincidences, but there are twists and turns along the way that will make you gasp, as story beats click into place down the line. Roher also builds out this world with layers of culture, character and music — whether it’s the jazz musicians Harry ran with back in the day (Herbie Hancock makes a cameo), the serious conservatory students (Ruthie’s music is composed by Marius de Vries) or the underground raves thrown by the Israeli crew.

O’Bryant’s edit is lively and sparkling, bringing a certain element of humor while also demonstrating in montages the desperation that leads Niki down this path. Woodall turns in a star-making performance as this tortured, taciturn character who doesn’t talk much, though his tattoos say a lot. His bad-boy swagger externally obfuscates his heart of gold, but his goodness and morality are apparent.

Niki’s musical genius is frequently alluded to, dreams deferred by his hearing disorder, and Woodall physically communicates that repressed frustration. More elegantly, in a climactic moment, he finally plays the piano — a possession and an exorcism at the same time and an explosion of raw talent that says everything he cannot.

In character, story and setting, “Tuner” has an old-school quality to it, like a movie from the 1970s. It has a throwback feel yet could easily exist in any era, which makes it so appealing. It’s a thrill to watch this kind of original, adult moviemaking that’s all too rare these days, and Roher hits all the right notes. Here’s hoping he has more of these magic tricks up his sleeve.

Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.