By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

Tuner (Dir: Daniel Roher. Canada/USA, 2025): If someone were to create a mock Canadian film based on the stereotype, the script would be painfully earnest and straightforward, likely trading on stock characters, and set in cottage country.

The local industry is changing for the better (2026 is shaping up to be a banner year) and even traditional genre flicks are showing more colors. Take Tuner. If made in the aughts it would probably star Ryan Reynolds, be filled to the brim with bad one-liners, and the caper elements would take precedence over character development.

Outside of one jarring deus-ex-machina coincidence, Tuner is a beautifully written thriller that doubles as a character study: what do you do if everything you have worked for vanishes? Do you search for a new ground wire or allow yourself to be unmoored, unencumbered by notions like love or the law?

At the center of the story is Niki (Leo Woodall, Bridget Jones’ plaything in Mad about the Boy), a child prodigy who becomes a piano tuner after developing hyperacusis (low tolerance for loud noises). Niki goes through life keeping to himself and resenting his luck. His only companions are the elderly couple that has taken him in, his mentor Harry (a delightful Dustin Hoffman) and his wife Marla (Broadway mainstay Tovah Feldshuh).

Two events force Niki out of his funk: he meets a music student (Havana Rose Liu, No Exit) as prickly as he is but cuter, and interrupts three thieves trying to open a safe. Turns out the combination of perfect pitch and sound sensitivity make the piano tuner an ideal fit for safecracking. Niki goes along with the scheme to help pay Harry’s medical bills, but soon finds himself over his head.

Directed and co-written by documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher (Navalny), Tuner unfolds pleasantly, if not surprisingly. The up-and-coming Leo Woodall carries the movie with remarkable ease and Dustin Hoffman’s schtick (verbose, with the odd pearl of wisdom) is enjoyable again after a years-long break.

Tuner gets a boost from a well-thought out sound design that enhances Niki’s trials and tribulations, while showcasing vibrant on-screen pieces by Marius De Vries (La La Land). The film is a notch above your regular fare at the multiplex, best enjoyed with a good surround system. ★★★☆☆

Tuner is now playing across Canada.