Tuner: Herbie Hancock Cameos

Jazz and classical musicians probably have more in common than many people realize.  That is particularly true when it comes to piano preferences. They all rely on tuners like Harry Horowitz (no relation to Vladimir). However, at this point his apprentice Niki White does most of the work. The former pianist’s ears are both his greatest strength and curse in Daniel Roher’s Tuner, which releases Tuesday on DVD.

White was once a musical prodigy, but his acute hyperacusis derailed his career. He now works with Horowitz, with the help of muffling earphones to protect against loud noises. He still has perfect pitch and an incredible sensitivity to the slightest changes in sound. Ironically, it also makes him a natural safe-cracker.

He originally discovered this new talent when Horowitz, his fading mentor, locks his hearing aids in his safe and forgets the combination. Shortly thereafter, he demonstrates it under “professional” conditions, when Uri interrupts his late-night tuning session in a wealthy client’s home. Uri also works for the rich tool, as his security consultant. Uri knows his customers’ security systems and the locations of their safes. Cracking them is the tricky part, until he meets White.

At first, Uri tells his gang to only take just enough to make a tidy score, but not so much that will be quickly missed. Thanks to Uri’s steady gigs, White starts paying down Horowitz’s medical bills. However, Uri recruits White for a gig involving the Korean mob that takes an ugly, nasty turn. Unfortunately, Uri starts threatening Ruthie Waymon, White’s new girlfriend, until the tuner returns for a high-risk follow-up.

Frankly, Tuner is a pretty impressive narrative debut for Roher, who previously helmed the Oscar-winning documentary, Navalny. There are many hip, knowing references to both classical music and jazz. In fact, Herbie Hancock appears as himself, who happens to be one of Horowitz’s regular customers.

Leo Woodall is quite convincing as White, which rather follows, since the twitchy mathematician he portrayed in Prime Target was like an extended dress rehearsal. Havana Rose Liu is convincingly sensitive and neurotic as Waymon. It is also nice to see Dustin Hoffman get a furlough from cancel culture prison to play Horowitz. He is well cast, thanks to his facility for both manic humor and pathos. Plus, Jean Reno brings a touch of class in the small but significant role of composer Marius Maissner.

Lior Raz also makes a terrific villain as Uri, but perhaps it is just as well he hasn’t been the focus of most reviews. Insane extremists might either object to his presence, as an Israeli actor, or use his Israeli immigrant character to justify their antisemitic hatred.

Regardless, Tuner is a very New York-centric, musically literate thriller, with a great soundtrack (including many licensed classic jazz recordings). It is not quite Blow Out, but its use of sound is almost as notable as recent horror films like Rabbit Trap, Noise, and Undertone. Highly recommended, Tuner releases this Tuesday (8/11) on DVD and BluRay.