In the world of films shot on greenscreens, it’s difficult to find movies that know how to be movies. A lot of blockbusters feel like they lack intention because they shoot everything on a blank background, and decide the technical elements in postproduction. However, Tuner is different.
The crime/romance movie stars Leo Woodall (One Day) and Havana Rose Liu (No Exit), following Niki, a hypersensitive piano tuner with perfect pitch (Woodall) who, thanks to the meddlings of his experienced but rapidly aging master Harry (Dustin Hoffman), strikes up a loving but tempestuous relationship with Ruthie, a talented student pianist (Liu). However, due to his master’s health conditions and his extremely sensitive hearing, the tuner realizes he has a hidden expertise for safecracking, working with a group of Israeli thieves.
Tuner very clearly takes inspiration from the iconic midbudget neo-noirs of the 90s, like Reservoir Dogs, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Wild at Heart. While the script and story are both excellent, the real stars of the film are the technical aspects. The color grading is shockingly striking, and feels like a relic from a bygone era with how vibrant and saturated all of the blues, greens, and purples are in the film. The use of color during the scenes late in the night does an especially great job at telling the story, increasing in vibrance during the most emotional and intense scenes. The lighting is also outrageously beautiful, especially during the final scene in the maestro’s house. The soft lighting gradually increasing and decreasing in strength as the power of the piano rises and falls makes for an extremely satisfying pairing of auditory and visual impact during the most important scenes.
However, easily the most spectacular aspect of the film is the sound design. Audio editing is an extremely underappreciated element of filmmaking, and very few movies are really able to use the sound to tell the story as well as Tuner. The way it adjusts volume and intensity in conjunction with the status of Niki’s hearing does a perfect job at putting the viewer in the mindset of the main character, ensuring that they’re feeling the pain and anxiety that he feels with the changes in audio levels.
In a lot of current blockbusters, in order to save money and planning, filmmakers will shoot scenes with a lack of technical intention on greenscreens and soundstages and “fix” the lighting and color grading, among other things, in postproduction, leading to many films looking flat and unintentional. But by returning to the form of the 20th century by consciously deciding how to light, color grade, and edit the sound of the film, Tuner cements itself as one of the most respectable, satisfying, and well-made movies of 2025.
