TUNER is the kind of finely-tuned genre thriller they just don’t make anymore. It’s got an Oscar winner, Dustin Hoffman, having a blast in a warm supporting role, a nail-biting premise, and a helluva breakout from Leo Woodall. The film never reaches for greatness. It’s a paint-by-numbers indie, and it knows it. But it lives in its world so completely that you forgive every predictable turn.
I caught TUNER in a nearly empty Santa Barbara theater on a work night and loved every minute. It won’t crack my best-of list. However, it will be one I queue up again the second it hits streaming.
Final Thought: If “tuning a piano is about creating harmony out of chaos and being okay with the imperfections,” then I can say TUNER has zero. This should’ve been the 2026 breakout that flew under the radar.
It’s playing in limited theatrical release.
