Tuner

Director: Daniel Roher

Cast: Leo Woodall, Havana Rose Liu, Dustin Hoffman, Jean Reno

Having acutely sensitive hearing is both a blessing and a curse for Niki White as played by Leo Woodall in Daniel Roher’s first narrative feature. Though his auditory condition ended a promising musical career, it’s been a boon for his job as a piano tuner. Together with his genial mentor Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), he spends his days travelling back and forth across New York, tending to instruments that require his special skills. These duties also compel the typically taciturn Niki to come out of his protective shell and interact with such people as Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a music composition student with whom he feels a spark. But when shady individuals discover that Niki’s talents could be just as useful on locked safes as they are on old Steinways, events take a dangerous turn, one that adds the thrills of watching a heist flick to a film that’s already remarkably fleet-footed as a drama and a romance.

Awards: Toronto International Film Festival