In 'Tuner,' a goodhearted worker blessed with expert hearing is lured by safecracking

For anyone who thinks they don’t marque them similar they utilized to, accidental hullo to “Tuner,” a beautifully calibrated crime-romance with shades of “Thief” and “Good Will Hunting” and a terrific prima crook from Leo Woodall, who anchors the ensemble. “Tuner” is the communicative diagnostic debut of Daniel Roher, the acclaimed documentary filmmaker whose “Navalny” won the Oscar successful 2023. But with “Tuner,” helium proves helium tin capably play successful different key, portion delivering 1 of the freshest surprises of the year.

Roher and co-writer Robert Ramsay trade a classically structured screenplay astir a talented soft tuner who stumbles into a beingness of crime, upon which Roher, exertion Greg O’Bryant, and composer Will Bates embroider jazzy rhythms and inflections, inspired by the philharmonic satellite our characters inhabit.

Woodall, the histrion who pulled absorption successful “Nuremberg” and “The White Lotus,” stars arsenic Niki, a young soft tuner moving nether his mentor and surrogate father, Harry (Dustin Hoffman), who has the connections and the acquisition of gab. Brooding Niki, meanwhile, has the accomplishment and the cleanable pitch. They marque for an amusing unusual mates entering the interior sanctums of the uber-wealthy successful the New York metro area, often asked to bash other attraction tasks. Their narration and banter are charming, but it’s wide that Niki has a hunger for much successful this life.

Through thoughtful exposition told visually and done performance, we larn that Niki has a proceeding upset called hyperacusis, an utmost sensitivity to dependable and “uncontrolled acoustic environments.” It’s not until astir halfway done the movie that helium names the condition, but we spot that helium perpetually wears specialized earplugs and over-ear extortion astir of the time, and that his proceeding greatly affects however helium encounters the world.

Roher brings america wrong his caput via the enactment of Academy Award-winning dependable decorator Johnnie Burn (“The Zone of Interest”), who mixes the extracurricular sound according to however Niki manages it, creating a profoundly subjective viewing experience. His information is some a superpower and a vulnerability, arsenic we spot erstwhile helium discovers a unsafe caller skill, cracking safes, with his unsocial quality to perceive the tumblers of the fastener moving internally.

A rueful look crosses Niki’s look erstwhile helium opens his archetypal harmless to rescue Harry’s proceeding aids, arsenic if helium knows this can’t pb anyplace good, and so it does not. His archetypal occupation comes by accident, erstwhile helium stumbles upon a unit of Israeli burglars masquerading arsenic a information company, led by smooth-talking Uri (Lior Raz). Niki conscionable wants them to halt the racket they’re making with their drill, truthful helium rapidly manipulates the fastener and gets backmost to tuning.

But Uri spots talent, and soon Niki volition desperately request the wealth erstwhile Harry lands successful the hospital. Niki finds himself moving with the safe-cracking crew, lifting items that affluent radical mightiness not miss, portion simultaneously romancing a beauteous and talented composer and pianist, Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), whom helium meets portion tuning pianos astatine her conservatory.

For the purposes of this screenplay, the satellite is tiny and filled with coincidences, but determination are twists and turns on the mode that volition marque you gasp, arsenic communicative beats click into spot down the line. Roher besides builds retired this satellite with layers of culture, quality and euphony — whether it’s the jazz musicians Harry ran with backmost successful the time (Herbie Hancock makes a cameo), the superior conservatory students (Ruthie’s euphony is composed by Marius de Vries) oregon the underground raves thrown by the Israeli crew.

O’Bryant’s edit is lively and sparkling, bringing a definite constituent of wit portion besides demonstrating successful montages the desperation that leads Niki down this path. Woodall turns successful a star-making show arsenic this tortured, taciturn quality who doesn’t speech much, though his tattoos accidental a lot. His bad-boy swagger externally obfuscates his bosom of gold, but his goodness and morality are apparent.

Niki’s philharmonic genius is often alluded to, dreams deferred by his proceeding disorder, and Woodall physically communicates that repressed frustration. More elegantly, successful a climactic moment, helium yet plays the soft — a possession and an exorcism astatine the aforesaid clip and an detonation of earthy endowment that says everything helium cannot.

In character, communicative and setting, “Tuner” has an old-school prime to it, similar a movie from the 1970s. It has a throwback consciousness yet could easy beryllium successful immoderate era, which makes it truthful appealing. It’s a thrill to ticker this benignant of original, big moviemaking that’s each excessively uncommon these days, and Roher hits each the close notes. Here’s hoping helium has much of these magic tricks up his sleeve.

Walsh is simply a Tribune News Service movie critic.