Hollywood great Dustin Hoffman (88) may be approaching 90, but the two-time Oscar winner hasn't lost any of his compelling and convincing acting prowess over the years. Hoffman proves this in the new film "The Piano Tuner" (theatrical release: July 2), in which he gets to indulge an old passion and leave audiences to forget his previous cinema appearance in the mega-flop "Megalopolis".
Piano or pilfering? Here's what it's about
Niki White (Leo Woodall, 29) has perfect pitch and is considered an exceptionally talented piano tuner. However, his once-promising career as a musician ended abruptly. Since then, he has been traveling from one client to the next together with Harry (Hoffman), his mentor. Their assignments take them through traditional concert halls and the affluent neighborhoods of New York, where they encounter all kinds of eccentric clients. These include Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu, 28), an ambitious composition student who challenges Niki both musically and morally.
When security expert Uri (Lior Raz, 54) realizes that Niki's fine-tuned hearing can be used not only for tuning instruments but also for opening safes, he makes him an enticing offer. The prospect of quick money attracts Niki - he wants to use it to help Harry and his wife out of their financial troubles. But with each step deeper into Uri's risky criminal world, what connects him to Ruthie also becomes increasingly endangered.
Story with clever tempo changes
Music can do far more than just play second fiddle in various film genres. "Whiplash" turned it into the driving force for barely tolerable psychological terror, "Baby Driver" into the gear shift for high-speed gangster action. In "The Piano Tuner", it can also be understood as another main character alongside Woodall, Hoffman, and Liu, setting the film's tempo.
Anyone expecting a leisurely character study from the mere title "The Piano Tuner" and a seemingly mellow older Hoffman will be surprised. Woodall's character soon finds himself in a nerve-wracking cacophony that threatens the loss of everything he holds dear and important.
For Hoffman, the role as a masterful piano tuner is a special one. Before he heard the call of the dream factory, the veteran star harbored the desire to become a musician and even studied at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. He doesn't have to act his confident handling of the subject matter.
