Roofman is a marvel. Derek Cianfrance’s true-crime comedy-drama has flopped at the box office, but it’s one of the year’s best movies and boasts one of star Channing Tatum’s finest performances. It’s the unbelievable true story of Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum), who, after being convicted of armed robbery, escapes prison and takes refuge in a North Carolina Toys R Us, where he spies attractive co-worker Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) and gradually comes out of hiding, embedding himself in Leigh’s church community and wooing the single mom of two girls.
Paramount
Roofman Is a Rare True-Crime Movie
If that sounds like a sweaty rom-com setup, rest assured, Roofman is anything but that. A surprising amount of the film’s plot reflects exactly what happened in real life, down to the detail at times, and documentary-style inserts amidst the closing credits reiterate how ripped-from-the-headlines Roofman is. The magic of Cianfrance’s film is that it does justice to each prong of its admittedly tricky narrative. It’s a romantic comedy, a heist thriller, an on-the-run adventure, a second-chance-at-life movie, and a heartbreaking moral drama all at once, but one tone never overtakes the other.
Manchester earned the “Roofman” moniker for his modus operandi: pummelling holes in the roofs of fast food establishments, namely McDonald’s but also a few Burger Kings, and corralling the employees into the walk-in freezer while he makes off with the loot. As far as armed robbers go, Manchester was a fairly benevolent one. In the news clips during the credits, we hear that he would often encourage employees to don their coats before confining them. The opening scene shows us as much, with Tatum’s Manchester bequeathing an under-prepared employee (Tony Revolori) with his own coat before shutting the freezer door. Dunst’s character is similarly based in reality. Leigh Moore, née Wainscott, appears during the credits to share her and her daughter’s memories of Manchester, whom she dated while he hid out in the Toys R Us. “They didn’t have anything bad to say,” Moore says of her daughter’s memories of that time.
It’s One of Channing Tatum’s Best Roles
This is the best movie so far from Cianfrance, who directed the harrowing dramas Blue Valentine (2010) and A Place Beyond the Pines (2012). Roofman is a notable change of pace, rooting itself in a small-town charm and the rambling, hazily photographed milieu of the 1970s, to which the film owes much in both style and tone. As Manchester, Tatum is as good as he’s ever been on screen. He’s charming, but there’s a quiet dangerousness lurking beneath his surface that none of the other characters can quite put a finger on. Roofman at once sympathizes Manchester and seeks to find reason for his life of crime, but it doesn’t acquit him of the harm he caused. Dunst is likewise spectacular, imbuing Leigh with a wizened sarcasm that plays nicely off of the scenes in which she has to play puppy-dog affection with Tatum. Hers is the most complicated part in the film, and even her eyeliner works overtime to deliver an utterly heartrending performance.
Paramount
The rest of the cast includes Peter Dinklage, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Ben Mendelsohn, and Uzo Aduba in small but pivotal supporting roles. This is one of the rare movies in which the ensemble is just that, with even the actors in the tiniest roles given a moment or two to play front and center. Roofman takes its time to develop its story and characters, and once it gets rolling, its rather shocking how much you find yourself invested in these people. If you don’t know Manchester’s story, save any deep dives for after the movie. Not knowing how it ends is much of the joy. And of the ending, Cianfrance has crafted one of the loveliest, most uplifting, and simultaneously heartbreaking finales to a major studio movie in quite a while. The final frames are a risky leap, but the film lands with grace. Roofman is unmissable.
