Daniel Roher's directorial debut "Tuner" centers on a piano tuner who pivots into safecracking, anchored by a charismatic performance from Havana Rose Liu that carries the film through its conventional narrative beats. Leo Woodall, best known for his breakout work in "The White Lotus," plays the romantic counterpart but the pairing feels miscast, lacking the electric chemistry the story demands.
Roher, transitioning from documentarian work, demonstrates visual competence and an ear for pacing, yet the screenplay leans heavily on romance-heist genre predictability. The premise itself offers genuine intrigue. A piano tuner's intimate knowledge of mechanical precision translates naturally into cracking safes, a conceit ripe with dramatic potential. Liu seizes this material, bringing charm and credibility to a character navigating an unexpected criminal underworld. Her performance suggests a performer capable of anchoring larger projects.
The film's romantic arc unfolds along well-trodden paths. Woodall's character arrives as a disruption to Liu's protagonist, and their relationship develops with the inevitability of a musical scale rather than organic tension. The chemistry never ignites. Woodall, electric in his television work, registers as flat here, suggesting either miscasting or direction that failed to unlock his strengths for cinema.
What works intermittently are the technical sequences. Scenes involving the actual mechanics of safecracking hold visual interest and authenticate Liu's character's expertise. When the film focuses on craft and precision, it finds footing. When it retreats into generic romantic complications and plot exposition, momentum stalls.
IndieWire's assessment identifies the core issue. Roher constructed a functional romantic heist but abandoned opportunities to subvert audience expectations. The film needed to zagging when it zigs, to surprise viewers familiar with the formula. Instead,