Nick Fuller’s ‘Changing Tun’e hums with the dissonance between passion and partnership, peeling back the layers of a relationship buckling under the weight of a dream not shared. It opens with a Zoom call – as Phil (Freddy Goymer), a delusional yet likable musician, is crushed by label boss Ben (Barry Smith), who delivers rejection with the bluntness of a closed door. It’s a punchy opening, tonally precise, and sets the emotional compass for what follows.
What unfolds is a painfully intimate relationship drama. Phil’s obsession with making it in music drags his partner Becky (Olivia Dowd) into financial instability and emotional neglect. “Banking on a pipe dream”, she says – and you feel the sting. This isn’t just about music. It’s about the fallout of believing in something more than the person next to you.
Dowd and Goymer deliver with gut-punch realism. Their scenes ache with tension – particularly during their anniversary-turned-breakup – grounded by Mark Wiggins’ moody, restrained cinematography that smartly avoids melodrama. There’s a rawness to Becky’s decision, a harshness, perhaps, but Fuller never leans on easy answers. Months later, as Becky second-guesses herself with friend Mel (Maya Pillay), the film strikes a chord many will know: what if they’ve changed?
‘Changing Tune’ doesn’t glorify the grind or vilify the realist. It simply lays out the wreckage, asking us to pick through it. It’s a film about how art – and love – can be all-consuming, and sometimes mutually exclusive. Bold in its restraint and unafraid of emotional grey zones, ‘Changing Tune’ hits the right notes – even the bitter ones.
