‘Roofman’: An Absolute Charmer That’s an Enduring Portrait of A True Story
There comes a point in Derek Cianfrance’s Roofman where the thought of “What if I made different choices?” comes into our main character’s head, and this is essentially the main conceit of the film. A true story revolving around seeing the humanity of a man who did some terrible things but also has more to him than meets the eye. Cianfrance is no stranger to exploring the deeper meaning of darker stories, such as Blue Valentine and Place Beyond the Pines, but Roofman blends what is familiar and new territory for the director, making for his most tender and entertaining film yet.
Roofman is an absolute charmer that conveys the complicated emotions of this bizarre story well while also providing an entertaining ride that effortlessly balances thrilling, comedic, sad, and romantic elements. With a potential career-best performance from Channing Tatum on top of it all, this film will stand as one of the biggest surprises of the year and an enduring drama that will leave your heart melted when it’s done.
What’s Roofman about?
Roofman’s events are based on the true story of Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum), a caring dad who was a former military man struggling to make ends meet for his three kids and wife. After taking advice from his old pal Steve (LaKeith Stanfield) to provide for his family, he decides to use his unique skills to go into a life of robbery as “The Roofman.” A robber famous for cutting holes on top of multiple McDonald’s (hence the nickname) and stealing the cash that was in their safes, but all while being kind to the employees who work there, since it’s in his nature to be a nice guy.
Jeffrey, inevitably, gets arrested, sent to prison, and is handed a pretty hefty sentence, but he manages to escape the prison using his clever ingenuity. As Jeffrey runs to find a place to hide, he stumbles upon a Toys ‘R’ Us and decides to secretly live there, playing in the store and eating peanut M&Ms for months on end.
Months after his initial escape, Jeffrey begins to form a romantic kindling with one of the employees at the Toys ‘R’ Us, Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mom just trying to make ends meet. Just when the two begin seeing each other seriously, Jeffery’s double life starts unraveling as his past catches up with him, and old habits start resurfacing.
Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst are superb in this absurd true story
While the film is centered on true events, it would be impossible to be swept up into the chaotic nature of this story if there weren’t a firm anchor at the center, and Channing Tatum more than delivers with his lead performance. Tatum is a perfect fit for a heart-of-gold guy that just happens to rob from McDonald’s, but there’s even more nuance to the performance aside from cute comedic banter.
Acting as a character study of this real-life person, Tatum truly is at one with the real Jeffrey Manchester. You can see the sweetness in his eyes, but you also can’t help but tear up when he looks back at his decisions, and you see him as a kind-hearted man whose things just didn’t line up in life. It’s a tightrope to walk when asking an audience to root for and feel bad for a person who’s a criminal, but Cianfrance knows how to form the story through such a sympathetic lens of humanity in all people, and Tatum nails it through and through.
On top of it all, Kirsten Dunst pairs superbly with Tatum throughout the film. Not only is their chemistry together electric, but Dunst also brings such a tender, poignant nature to Leigh’s relationship with Jeffrey. She’s also a kind-hearted person who just wants to care for her loved ones, but she obviously goes about it in far different ways than Jeffrey.
Both Dunst and Tatum truly shine in the film’s third act, where they have moments of understanding each other’s struggles in the midst of their relationship, and it adds such melancholic but heartfelt beauty to the film’s entirety. Simply put, Tatum and Dunst give this film the lead performances it needs to work as well as it does.
From director Cianfrance’s perspective, he’s playing with tone inflections he’s rarely touched on in his previous features. Humanity exploration and crime caper sequences are something he’s always been tapped into, but he plays a lot more loosely with his structure than usual, adding so much more comedy through utilizing some of our funniest actors like Peter Dinklage or even having fun with Tatum within the Toys ‘R’ Us itself; it’s a more than welcome blend of new and familiar for the director.
Final thoughts on Roofman
Roofman’s true story core already makes it interesting, but Cianfrance can bring such a tender core to the story that will make you cry, laugh, and smile throughout. Paired with two wonderful performances from both Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, Roofman will be viewed as a film that finds the human tragedy of such an absurd-sounding true story.
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