Movie: Tuner (2025)
Release Date: 5/29/26
Directed by: Daniel Roher
Starring:  Leo Woodall, Havana Rose Liu, Dustin Hoffman, Tovah Feldshuh, Lior Raz
Review by: Kirk Dulin
Review Type: SPOILER FREE

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FIRST CRUNCH (Synopsis)

A piano tuner with a rare hearing disorder simultaneously stumbles into love and cracking safes.

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Something About Leo

Everyone is always on the hunt for the next Leo(nardo DiCaprio). Some claim that we’ve already found it in Timothée Chalamet. I disagree vehemently.

Enter Leo Woodall, our lead character of Tuner. Leo already has 40+ acting credits under his filmography with no sign of slowing down. He first caught MY attention in Nuremberg (2025), stealing the best movie monologue even against costars/previous Best Actor Winners Russel Crowe and Rami Malek.

In Tuner, Leo is has studied this script up and down. Every choice is motivated by his circumstances – most importantly, his rare hearing condition – hyperacusis – which causes him to hear EVERY sound at an incredibly painful noise level. Leo navigates his character – Niki – with routine, trusted friends/coworkers/bosses (screen legends Dustin Hoffman & Tovah Feldshuh). You can feel his loneliness through the screen, and also his comfort and solace from the bubble he’s created.

Although Dustin Hoffman has a limited screen time here, he quickly anchors the emotional weight needed for Leo to jump off from. I would also be remised if I didn’t mention Havana Rose Liu, who is quickly becoming another one of my new favorite actors (Power Ballad, Tuner, Lurker just this year). She enters Leo Woodall’s orbit with baggage the size of the universe, and you can FEEL her anxiety with every choice she makes. Having their worlds collide is the perfect catalyst for their rapid romance, and it ebbs and flows as the backdrop and the center stage pulse of this story at different times. Liu is EXQUISITE in her character choices as well. I never can quite guess how she will respond to Leo’s choices and vice versa…and the scene flows with such a sense of truth as if you were people watching or eavesdropping on their lives.

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Superhearing Superpower

Leo Woodall’s hearing disorder plays as a super power, and director Daniel Roher leans into that well. We’re given tight close up camera shots of items that produce noise in everyday life that normally would be drowned out by the rest of the world. At times, the objects give a certain beauty to listening for the small things that otherwise would be missed in our busy day. And other times, they become dangerous because of the decibels they are capable of producing, rendering our protagonist incapacitated from the shrill amplification in his skull. Not once does the condition feel gimmicky due to the care that the entire creative vision brings to the film. It continues to evolve throughout, presenting new questions for the audience that simultaneously play in your head during the runtime of the film. Thus, activating every sense in your body.

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Pacing is King

A movie with poor pacing can destroy it. At 1 hour and 50 minutes, Tuner can’t afford to add unnecessary scenes or be anything other than intentional. It has to lay the foundation for the characters, educate us on the hearing disorder, make us fall in love with both characters, AND build in a reasonable belief that this guy can also be a safe cracker. And Tuner -somehow – does all of this with ease. The first hour and 15 minutes are especially the best pacing of the film, with the final 35 minutes still being better than most films I’ve seen in 2025/2026. A “perfect ending” for me is one that leaves you desperately wanting to see more of these characters. NOTE: Wanting more of a character does not equal pining for a sequel or a spin off series. This story is complete. Because of the emotional effect of the story, it connects you to a world outside of your own, wanting you to revisit it to unlock those feelings over and over again.

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Last Looks

Tuner is an unexpected gem that you’ll be excited to recommend to your friends. On paper, it might sound like a stretch, but every promise it makes, it keeps, all the way to the final scene.

Score: 8.0/10 kernels

Review by: Kirk Dulin

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Tuner releases in theatres on Friday, May 29, 2026.

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