It is hard to believe Tuner marks the narrative feature debut of Canadian director Daniel Roher. Already known for acclaimed documentaries like Once Were Brothers (2019), the Oscar-winning Navalny (2022), and Blink (2024, co-directed with Edmond Stenson), Roher now pivots into narrative filmmaking with striking confidence. Co-written with Robert Ramsey, whose last credit was Soul Men (2008), this is one of the slickest and most unorthodox thrillers TIFF has showcased in years.
Premiering as a Special Presentation, Tuner generated strong buzz even at its P&I screening where critics responded enthusiastically.
Leo Woodall, best known from season two of The White Lotus, plays Niki White, a gifted pianist with a rare hearing condition. He perceives sound at an almost unbearably sharp level. To cope, he layers earbuds under bulky headphones to dull the world around him. Niki apprentices as a piano tuner for Harry Horowitz, played by Dustin Hoffman, traveling across New York’s wealthy neighborhoods until a chance encounter changes everything.
During a tuning session, Niki stumbles upon a robbery in progress and meets Uri, played by Lior Raz. His acute hearing allows him to crack safes without tools, drawing him into Uri’s crew just as Harry is hospitalized after an accident. To cover his mentor’s medical bills, Niki leans further into crime. Alongside this descent, he develops a hesitant romance with Ruthie, played by Havana Rose Liu, while Marla, played by Tovah Feldshuh, watches protectively from the sidelines. Small but memorable turns from Jean Yoon and Jean Reno add extra spark to the ensemble.
What makes Tuner unforgettable is how it puts the audience inside Niki’s head. Johnnie Burn, fresh off his Oscar win for The Zone of Interest, crafts a punishing soundscape where every abrasive noise lands with the same painful intensity Niki endures. Already a busy year for Burn with work on Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia, this may be his most immersive achievement yet.
The film’s rhythm is equally shaped by Greg O’Bryant’s editing, which pulses with energy and slows down to let moments breathe. Combined with a sharp jazz soundtrack featuring Herbie Hancock among others, the result recalls Baby Driver. Unlike that film, Tuner avoids choreographed-to-the-beat gimmickry and instead uses music and pacing to heighten tension and mood, keeping viewers locked in.
Roher and Ramsey’s script keeps raising the stakes of Niki’s criminal entanglements, constantly tightening the screws on whether he can survive the dangerous world he has stepped into. At the same time, the film asks whether he can believe in himself enough to pursue what he truly wants, rather than letting his gift be consumed by crime.
It is hard not to get swept up when the editing keeps you engaged, the soundtrack delivers banger after banger, and Woodall gives a star-making performance. Tuner may not be the heaviest film at TIFF 2025, but it is one of the most purely enjoyable, stylish, fast-paced, and effortlessly cool.
All images via Elevation Pictures.
Directed by Daniel Roher
Screenplay by Robert Ramsey, Daniel Roher
Produced by Andre Coutu, Michael Heimler, Teddy Schwarzman,
JoAnne Sellar, Lila Yacoub
Starring Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, Havana Rose Liu, Lior Raz, Tovah Felshuh
Premiere Date: August 30, 2025 (Telluride)
Running Time: 109 minutes
Cinema from the Spectrum 
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