Tuner (15)
Directed by Daniel Roher
★★★★☆

FROM Daniel Roher, Academy Award-winning documentarian and director of Navalny, comes a truly immersive crime thriller with a unique twist, about a talented piano tuner who discovers an unlikely aptitude for cracking safes.

The film, co-written and directed by Roher, follows Niki White (Leo Woodall), a former child prodigy, whose ambitions to become a pianist were cut short when he developed hyperacusis, an auditory disorder which he describes as becoming allergic to everyday sounds, especially loud ones which he finds excruciatingly painful. You see him travel across New York as he accompanies his boss and mentor, veteran piano tuner Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), who is obsessed with tuna, as they deal with a variety of clients. That includes Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), an ambitious and driven would-be pianist and composer who Niki becomes romantically involved with.

This is an impressive debut feature film by Roher and an extraordinary visual and auditory experience as it immerses you in Niki’s world. The use of sound is integral to the storytelling as you hear and feel exactly what Niki does. It makes for very uncomfortable and at times very painful viewing.

Woodall and Hoffman are delightful together. Woodall (Nuremberg, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy), who learnt to play the piano for the film, proves again he is a phenomenal talent, delivering a remarkably complex and heartbreaking performance, while Hoffman at 88 gives a pitch-perfect masterclass in acting.

As Niki discovers his innate skill for safe cracking he is slowly pulled into a life of crime by the villainous Uri (Lior Raz) which upends his life, leading to the brutal finale. His motives are pure though misguided, aiming to raise enough money to help Harry and his wife Marla (Tovah Feldshuh) with their financial problems.

The film explores creative paralysis and what happens when the thing that defines you is taken away from you which, in Niki’s case, is playing the piano. As he explains to Ruthie, he has learnt to tolerate everyday sounds as long as he has his earpieces in and puts on his headphones. That’s not a small feat.

This is an exceptional piece of cinema which will surpass your expectations and certainly moved me to tears with its powerful ending. It needs to be seen and certainly heard on the big screen.

In cinemas May 29.