Nate At The Movies

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

I’m back in Fort Worth, so you know what that means: let’s schedule an insane number of new movies to go see! First up was Tuner, which looked cheesy the first time I saw the trailer and then more legitimately interesting every time I saw the trailer after that. From the outside, it seemed like this movie was made for me, given its central character with perfect pitch and what was almost certain to be a classical-heavy score. I trekked all the way to Grapevine to confirm my suspicions, and I was completely right (and completely delighted with this movie).

Tuner’s central story was pretty traditional, in the same vein as Baby Driver or Drive (props to the naming team for their deviation from the norm), but the way that story was ornamented made Tuner a really complete watch. I loved the music throughout, both the diegetic piano and the score. The in-world music was impressive specifically because it was always theoretically correct—the scene where Niki was naming notes and chords could’ve really pissed off my perfect pitch self if they had half-heartedly written that scene, but they nailed it. Admittedly, I didn’t follow that string of chords near the end, but I imagine it was right, too. The score was also lovely, with its classical sentiments and a fun frenetic tone. The sound design was impressive as well, matching Niki’s experiences well, even when the sound was unbearable (it was unbearable for the audience, too! Hooray!).

The crime and music/romance storylines were balanced pretty well, and I maybe could’ve used more of the crime, actually. It really boiled over by the end, thankfully, and the added focus on Ruthie really endeared me to their relationship. Leo Woodall and Havana Rose Liu had some insane chemistry, and if they make a Tuner 2, I have no problem subbing in for Woodall so I can hang out with Liu. Dustin Hoffman provided an emotional and comedic boost, and the movie as a whole was very funny when it wanted to be. Daniel Roher seemed very confident in the director’s chair—I made the connection before seeing this movie that he also directed The AI Doc (he’s having a year)—and his cinematography and editing were clean and creative. I always enjoy when the edit and the music work in tandem, and the cuts on beats or hits in the score were endlessly satisfying.

I figured I would enjoy Tuner, but it checked pretty much every box for a non-musical for me. The story was fun and engaging with just the right intensity, the sound design and the score served the story really well and immersed the viewer, and everyone got a (kind of) happy ending. I’m always going to love movies with such great music (and it doesn’t hurt to have niche classical music references that I and probably no one else in my theater will understand). Tuner obviously knew that and gave me exactly what I wanted, and it was great. I wouldn’t recommend driving 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back to see Tuner if you can find a closer theater, but I’d 100% recommend seeing Tuner if you like Mussorgsky and shady dudes.