'Tuner' Review: A Charming, Character-Driven Narrative Debut
A documentary filmmaker makes narrative filmmaking look effortless
Premise - A talented piano tuner’s meticulous ear leads him to discover an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down.
Director - Daniel Roher
Screenwriter - Daniel Roher & Robert Ramsey
Noteworthy Cast - Leo Woodall, Havana Rose Liu, & Dustin Hoffman
Runtime - 107 minutes
Release Date - May 22, 2026
Trailer:
My Thoughts - Anyone who has seen one of Daniel Roher’s documentaries will not be shocked to learn that he had no trouble making the transition to narrative filmmaking. I’m just blown away at how effortless he made it look.
Tuner could have very easily veered into the territory of being a great premise movie. You’ve seen plenty of them. The kind that draws you in with a flashy premise and great cast, but can’t live up to the promise of the log line. You either suffer through the early stages of the film waiting for that great premise to kick in or it starts out strong and struggles to land the plane.
But you never feel that in Tuner. In fact, I almost didn’t even want the premise to kick in because I was having so much fun being rooted in this world with these characters. Instead of thinking “when is the cracking safes” plot line going to emerge, I sort of forgot that was even coming. Sure, part of that is because I am a sucker for a character driven story, but Roher’s knack for pacing and tone plays a large role as well. It also doesn’t hurt that the coolest up and comer in Hollywood, Leo Woodall, is the center of the film. His charm and charisma help elevate a film that was already well on its way to being pretty good. Watch out Glen Powell, he is coming for you!
Opposite Woodall for much of the film is his love interest, Havana Rose Liu, who is no stranger to showing up in this capacity in a 2020s film. It’s nice to see a filmmaker finally give her a role that has a little bit of meat on it. Don’t get me wrong, she’s great in ‘Bottoms’, ‘Lurker’, & even the otherwise unbearable ‘Oh What Fun’, but she’s an afterthought in each of those films. Not only is this her best performance, but one that I hope will make more directors realize that she is capable of so much more than playing a girlfriend with a few lines. Although looking at her upcoming slate of films, it looks like the cat may already be out of the bag with that one.
Woodall and Liu have so much chemistry that you almost miss them being on screen together when the film’s mind is elsewhere. Which I think is the one minor knock on the film. You never feel as invested in the rest of the story as you do in their relationship. Or at least I didn’t.
But back to how impressive this narrative feature debut is from Roher. I was surprised at how great his sense of space was. Whether it was the blocking or the places he’s putting the camera, it seemed much more calculated and thought through than most directors tackling this for the first time. There also were a few montages throughout the film that were so well done that they put a smile on my face.
I’ve also got to shoutout the sound design. I’m not very plugged into who the best sound designers working in Hollywood are, but just based on what I have seen, Johnnie Burns has to be up there. In addition to his work on Tuner he also worked on The Zone of Interest, Under the Skin, Waves, Nope, Hamnet, and all of Yorgos’s films. Legendary would be an understatement!
I like Roher’s documentaries, but I sure hope he sticks with narrative filmmaking after what he put on display with Tuner. Looks like his next film is a romantic heist caper set in Positano starring McConaughey & Zoë Saldaña. SIGN ME UP!
Who should see this? -
Where to watch? -