Directed By Derek Cianfrance

Starring – Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield

The Plot – Based on an unbelievable true story, Roofman follows Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum), an Army veteran and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname: Roofman. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys “R” Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for Leigh (Dunst), a divorced mom drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in

Rated R for adult language, nudity and brief sexuality.

Roofman | Official Trailer (2025 Movie) – Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst

POSITIVES

After steering two of the most achingly bittersweet films of the decade, in “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond the Pines”, Derek Cianfrance returns with what is easily his most mainstream accessible film to date, while conjuring a lighthearted approach to atmosphere that works brilliantly in a true life narrative that continuously feels too crazy to be true. This is not to say that “Roofman” doesn’t have a heartbreaking element to its journey that persists in those previous films, particularly in the grappling of Jeff’s surmised second chance with life and love, which envelopes a tragic element that mirrors the path of those previous two predecessors, it’s just that Cianfrance openly embraces the jaw-dropping magnitude of such a story, that effortlessly breeds constantly effective humor to so many unpredictably uncomfortable situations, all the while constructing one prison after Jeff’s evading of another, that unfortunately seems destined to follow him for the rest of his life, regardless of how often he tries to bask in the glow of a normalized life while maintaining the secrecy of holding one devastating truth over those new figures who are a part of his second chance. Jeff is a clumsily lovable lug at his very core, even if there’s one aspect about burglary that makes him noticeably dangerous, and while the morality of the character inspires a good guy demeanor that continuously shines through his criminal undertaking, the insightful overhead narration from Tatum constantly conveys a deeper insight into the motivations and mentality of the character, cementing not only a justifiable reason for why he has circled a life of crime, but also underlining emphasis in the ambitions of his cause, which grounds him in the kind of relatable humanity necessarily needed to want to spend two hours alongside such a menace to society. Being that this is a period piece, set in 2004, Cianfrance and longtime cinematography collaborator, Andrij Parekh, enact a grainy texture to the presentation that seamlessly authenticates the essence of an environment from a simpler time, combining with a condensing consistency to the intimacy of framing that is used to boldly study the internalized responses of its characters throughout some constantly complex situations that ultimately and unfortunately come to define them. This makes the blossoming love story between Jeffrey and Leigh flourish with the kind of organically impeccable chemistry between Tatum and Dunst that is palpably permeating to the affectionate interests of the audience, but beyond that contextualizes an impending claustrophobia to Jeffrey’s bleak outlooks towards a prominent future, that constantly remind us of the overwhelming stakes that hang in the balance, driving an urgency factor to a two hour engagement that never withered on either my investment to the evolvingly expansive narrative, nor the full-fledged character study towards Jeff, that I’m still internally debating, even an hour after finishing it. Speaking of the performances from that charmingly dynamic duo, Tatum and Dunst are electric towards attaining the empathy in two societal outcasts that learn to live for one another, with Dunst enacting an awkwardly sweet and guarded family woman, who represents hope to Jeff’s dreary outlooks, while Tatum brings along all of the expected athleticism during physically demanding on-the-run sequences, as well as limitless charisma in the suave sensibilities of a romantic lead, but it’s ultimately the tragic factor of lost time and familial opportunity continuously eating away at Jeff’s conscious that draws the most psychological depth from Tatum’s career-defining turn, haunting him with a palpable bitterness and isolated agony that blinds his often irrational ambitions, while making what is essentially camera surveillance cut with the knife of inability, as his character is forced to bleed naturally into the background of this dominant toy store setting. When these characters are alone, there’s enough charisma and honesty in their portrayals to breed coals of empathy to continuously keep the fires of intrigue burning hot for the audience, but when they’re together, the atmospheric ambiance rockets to a whole other level, featuring a playfulness during harmless banter that brings out the exploring innocence of each, while essentially letting their guards down from the alluring magnetism that makes them and us weak at the knees from how remarkable they each compliment the other’s timing. Aside from Tatum and Dunst, there are also quite a few surprises in the extent of the movie’s supporting ensemble, even those featuring past Cianfrance familiar faces, rounding out one of the talentedly deepest ensembles of the year, and while not all of them receive the necessary time to flesh out resounding impact to their respective portrayals, there is stellar work elicited here from an uncompassionate turn from Peter Dinklage that does help take some of the burden off of Tatum and Dunst shoulders, particularly when Peter doubles down on the passive aggressive crass as the selfish boss of the Toys-R-Us, making him the detestable manifestation of the worst kind of boss imaginable, where Dinklage exerts perfection pushing the buttons of the audience, during the most inappropriate times.

NEGATIVES

There is a lot about “Roofman” to make it stand out as the surprising hit of the fall movie season, but still a couple of nagging aspects that ultimately keep it from grasping the complete extent of its limitless potential, particularly a barrage of supporting characters and secondary arcs that are explored with a complete lack of commitment that leaves them dead on arrival. The most obvious of these are the casting of LaKeith Stanfield and Juno Temple, as friends of Jeff’s, who help him evade capture while manufacturing a new identity, and considering the magnitude of actors that each of them are, it’s disappointingly frustrating how little opportunities that the movie has for each of them to stand out, a fact made worse by the fact that this is the second week in a row where such an unfortunate aspect has plagued a Stanfield performance. As far as the limitations of the material goes, the script streamlines a majority of its compelling talking points about the incompetence of the American justice system, or Jeff’s own morality, that makes it feel undisturbed with wanting to rock the boat of the audience’s enjoyment towards it, and while this might responsibly keep the movie from wearing the scars of thematic tedium, the film’s two hour runtime full of unlimited opportunity to express and explore such insights, leaves it feeling a bit surface level in the profoundness of such a unique situation, wasting away the moments of Jeff’s agonized isolation to indulge in the fantasies of being in the store alone, instead of deconstructing the actions of why and how he ended up in such a compromising situation. In addition to this, my only other problem with the film, and one I’m truly incapable of answering, on account of my inexperience with the story, is the level of accuracy towards some of these scenes, particularly those where Jeff leaves the store, in order to follow through with his double life. Considering this is an escaped convict whose face has been plastered across every news briefing in Charlotte, I find it difficult to maintain believability that someone somewhere didn’t recognize him, especially while having dinner inside of Leigh’s church, and interacting with as many as fifty people having a clearly distinct view at his facial likeness. If this is really how this went down, then fine, but I feel like a man of this social stature would not only have more of a police presence continuously on his tail, especially considering how clumsy of a criminal that he is, but also come into confrontation quite a bit while engaging others during daylight hours, without any kind of disguise to even remotely deviate from his appearance.

OVERALL
“Roofman” is a charmingly chaotic comic caper from Derek Cianfrance, that not only delivers a career-defining turn inside one of the most naturally charismatic performances ever elicited from Channing Tatum, but also conjures an empathetically tender love story serving as the heartbeat for this complex narrative about second chance redemption. While the script doesn’t tap as deep as it effectively could’ve, with regards to its stunted secondary characters and compelling introspection, it does maintain the urgency in the air of a two hour runtime that flourishes the frenzy in such a see-to-believe situation, and one that will steal your heart while stealing a few bucks out of your wallet.

My Grade: 8.2 or B+