Tuner (2025) ‘BFI London Film Festival’ Movie Review: A Welcome Surprise as This Year’s Mystery Movie

Though the 2025 BFI London Film Festival marks the 69th in the festival’s history, it was 40 years ago that the very first surprise film screening took place at the illustrious celebration of cinema. The now annual screening kicked off in 1985 with Richard Attenborough’s “A Chorus Line”, whilst other legendary pictures such as Martin Scorsese’s “The Color of Money” and Michael Mann’s “The Insider” gave the UK its first look at the films in the years that followed. That begged the question then: how would the festival celebrate the 40th anniversary of the mystery movie screening? Could it have been marked with a “Running Man”? Or perhaps with a supreme Timothée Chalamet performance? Or maybe even a “Wicked” tale? All would have made for a wonderful time at the movies, but what we got instead might just have given us something that none of those could.

The Daniel Roher-directed, Dustin Hoffman and Leo Woodall-starring, “Tuner” surprised even those of us who were paying the most attention. A movie described by many at the event as one that they wouldn’t have seen had it not been selected, but boy, were they glad it was.

Director Daniel Roher is an acclaimed creative at this point, taking home both the Oscar and the BAFTA for Best Documentary Feature in 2023 for his visionary work on “Navalny”. So, just how do you follow that up? You make your very first feature film, naturally. An incredibly impressive one at that. The story he decided to tell was that of Niki (Leo Woodall), a hard of hearing piano tuner whose life is turned upside down amidst a blossoming romance and a freshly discovered knack for cracking safes. A skill that inevitably lends itself to making some quick cash when the day job just isn’t cutting it. But as we all know, if something seems too good to be true, it more than likely is.

In his youth, Niki was a piano prodigy, but now he spends his days tuning pianos as an apprentice of father figure Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman). Niki’s change of career came as a consequence of a hearing disability that forced him to give up what he loved most. Niki’s disability, hyperacusis, intensifies sounds to the point that even the most mild rattle can become deafening. Louder noises then have the ability to completely strip away his ability to function whatsoever. To combat this, he wears at all times a pair of noise-controlling headphones, with an even larger, more intense pair always on hand for more boisterous environments.

More often than not, when Niki and Harry are working, they find themselves in the service of homes with a piano that hasn’t been touched in months or even years. Privileged ignorance, in the eyes of Niki, who would love nothing more than to get himself back on the keys. However, as luck would have it, Niki’s unique ear actually makes him the perfect man for the job when a group of thieves unearth his special talent and put him to work cracking open the safes of those more financially fortunate.

The exact same people that Niki loathes for their lack of appreciation for the liberty they overlook so often. And in his hour of financial need, Niki can’t help but find himself seduced into the criminal underworld, wanting to help Harry and his wife, Marla (Tovah Feldshuh), pay off their outstanding debts. At the same time, Niki falls in love with piano student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), and when these two worlds collide, it threatens to destroy what makes him happiest in the absence of being a practicing pianist.

The film itself is, at least initially, a smooth, jazzy ride anchored by the wonderfully real chemistry between Woodall and Hoffman’s father-son dynamic that makes them feel like old buddies riding around town. Marla adds a different dynamic to the relationship throughout the film, acting as the voice of reason for both of them. Whether that’s for Harry to cut down on his salt intake, or for Niki to cut loose from his criminal ties.

And though the film shifts in tone—perhaps a bit abruptly—into a crime-heist thriller, like all great stories, its beating heart is a love story. “Tuner” captures Niki and Ruthie’s young romance with such warmth and sincerity that it’s impossible not to root for their happily ever after. That is, in part, thanks to the performances of Woodall and Rose Liu, who feel as if they’ve taken a major step up for these roles, growing in stature and going from strength to strength across their careers so far.

Roher’s documentarian history is on full display for everybody to see, with him and his cinematographer, Lowell A. Meyer, curating a visual treat that makes full use of its gorgeous Toronto, Ontario, Canada backdrop. Where the cracks begin to show, just slightly, however, is in Roher’s screenplay, which he co-wrote with Robert Ramsey. With Roher having never written a piece of fiction up to this point, he leans a little too heavily on plot conveniences and tonal shifts that provide some whiplash in order to arrive at his desired outcome. But when the action on screen is as thrilling as it is, and the script is otherwise so alive and full of warmth, I think we can forgive a little newbie falter here and there.

Where the film really shines, however, is in its magnificent sound design provided by Johnnie Burn, whose work you may have heard previously on Jordan Peele’s “Nope” or Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things”, amongst others. Burn’s use of muffled or exaggerated audio to demonstrate Niki’s condition places the audience in Niki’s shoes and forces you to feel his struggle. Something that is especially prevalent in scenes where Niki is unable to function due to his inability to tolerate piercing sounds, sending both us and Niki into total chaos. A genuinely frightful and overwhelming experience that is sure to get hearts racing.

“Tuner” is really the kind of movie that’s easily recommendable to just about anybody, packed with as much love and passion as high-octane thrills for anyone in need of their action kicks. A wonderful surprise at the festival that won the hearts of the crowd, and one that, if it wasn’t already, should be on your radar over the coming months. This is an incredibly promising feature debut from Daniel Roher, establishing himself as a filmmaker to watch with great interest from here on out.

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Tuner (2025) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, Letterboxd
Tuner (2025) Movie Cast: Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, Havana Rose Liu, Jean Reno, Lior Raz, and Tovah Feldshuh
Tuner (2025) Runtime: 1h 49m, Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance/Music

Where to watch Tuner