Director: Derek Cianfrance
Cast: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Lakeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Peter Dinklage
Screenplay: Derek Cianfrance, Kirt Gunn
126 mins. Rated R for language, nudity and brief sexuality.

In the new film Roofman, Channing Tatum (Deadpool & Wolverine) is a criminal who breaks into restaurants through the roof to scam the registers. Now, all of a sudden, my trips to Burger King feel pretty boring by comparison.

Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, the Roofman thief, who really robbed burger joints to make a better life for his family. When he’s arrested and goes to jail, only to break out and go on the run, the story gets wilder as he hides out in a Toys “R” Us and tries to live a normal life while awaiting the tools to successfully flee the country. While hiding out, he meets Leigh (Kirsten Dunst, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), a divorcee with two kids just trying to hold it all together. As Jeffrey gets a new chance at a good, respectable life, he has to decide if this facade is something he can keep up.

I imagine the difficulty in translating the story of Jeffrey Manchester to the screen. While it inherently has a cinematic feeling to it all, there’s also a so-crazy-it-can’t-be-real aspect which strains credulity, and director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) understands that. He purposely gives the tone of his film just enough silliness that it doesn’t topple over, and then he imbues Jeffrey with a sadness and real personal struggles. So often, we get to a certain part of our lives and assume we were supposed to have it all figured out by now. Jeffrey got to that point, and the only skills he has seem to be for breaking the law. Add to that the loss of his family (who refuse to see him in prison), and he has nothing left. I didn’t know the story of Manchester following his initial arrest, so when that portion of his story only took up about 20 minutes of screen time, I was very confused and interested in what would come next.

Channing Tatum is excellently cast as Manchester. Tatum is the kind of actor that’s not afraid to play big and self-deprecating, but in the past decade, he’s developed an earnestness to his characters that makes them more real and human even with the shenanigans. His scenes with Leigh and her daughters are heart-wrenching because you can see that’s all he ever wanted but he’s built himself this dangerous precipice of crime between what he wants and what’s possible. Tatum channels Tom Cruise’s performance in American Made to make a likable but ultimately clueless character on the path to ruin. As described in the film, he’s a “super smart…idiot.”

Seeing Jeffrey try to navigate the environment he’s in once breaking out of jail is worth the price of admission alone. As he tries to avoid the security cameras, find a safe place to rest and eat, and get some cash out of his self-made prison reminded me of the best parts of Spielberg’s The Terminal (an underrated character piece in its own right), and I loved seeing him avoid detection via general manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage, Wicked). Again, if the film had only been this, I would’ve been happy, but the joy of Roofman comes in the unexpected plot reveals that keep surprising both Jeffrey and the audience.

While the finished film struggles a bit in the second half with momentum, and there are a few minor contrivances in relation to Manchester’s living in a big box store that this former retail manager doesn’t believe, but Roofman is a sincere character piece that juggles its wilder elements with a heartfelt story of a man’s dream gone by…twice. It’s a great experience to learn about the crazy true story and the people involved who shaped and were ultimately damaged by it, and it features a career-high performance from Channing Tatum. Roofman is well worth carving out time for, but don’t sneak into your theater through the roof; use the front door, please.

3.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe