Written by: Derek Cianfrance & Kirt Gunn
Starring: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Peter Dinklage
Rating: [3.5/5]
For those who may not have a naturally fully functional moral compass, they may need an external motivator to help them clean up their act. Something that brings them much value, such as a family that may finally have them change their ways. Derek Cianfrance’s latest effort, Roofman, sets to display a path of redemption for a singular man who finds himself in a peculiar situation.
After receiving jail time following his burglary of a McDonald’s, Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) escapes prison and in his effort to evade law enforcement, ends up in a Toys “R” Us. Here he can hide out during the day and navigate around at night as he elicits help to get the documents he needs to flee and never be found again.
To think the story surrounding Roofman is based on a real person completely blows my mind, but it sure makes for a great idea for a movie, which we get there. A story about the sheer will to persevere and aiming for redemption as Jeffrey Manchester somehow goes from army vet to convict, escapee, and now family man. Quite the journey for this guy and one that delivers both an entertaining but also very touching film. Typically, I would not associate a film like this one with Derek Cianfrance known for his deeply melancholic romance films, but the man decided to stretch his wings and I’m glad he did.
From the onset we see Jeffrey does not operate as any typical criminal by the very fact he gives something that easily identifies him away during his heist because he felt bad for one of the individuals he held at gunpoint. At the very least, he begins the story as someone redeemable by his actions before learning about his reasons for resorting to crime. While he commits crime when necessary to support himself, Jeffrey proves himself as a generally nice guy, which makes his knack for illicit activity all the more head-scratching. He has a persistence to get things done and we see this transpire when he stows away inside a Toys “R” Us. During this stretch of the film, he displays his resourcefulness as he finds a way to go unnoticed, but also use enough of the surrounding inventory to not arouse suspicion of the theft going on that supports his survival. This provides much of the humor of this story, but the real heart of it transpires once he meets Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst), where we see Derek Cianfrance’s magic work once again.
Cianfrance knows how to put two romantic leads together and evidently aid in them having wonderful chemistry, as he did in Blue Valentine and The Light Between Oceans. The pairing of Dunst and Tatum here worked wonders as their relationship morphs from friendly to romantic. The arc of Jeffrey Manchester does not happen without Leigh and Dunst gives a tremendous performance in handling the strong emotions this character goes through. The same can be said about Tatum, who puts in some of his best work here. Easily navigating between the comedy, the heartwarming scenes, and gut-wrenching moments display all of what makes him a strong performer overall. This trio of Cianfrance’s direction along with Tatum and Dunst truly were the core and the greatest highlight of the film.
Even with the truth of us following the exploits of a man committing many crimes, Roofman contains a sentimentality and humanity that allows it to thrive narratively. Jeffrey’s journey from when we initially encounter him robbing a McDonald’s of all places to the finale displays such a growth all because of the opportunity he received to spend time with Leigh and her family. This film oscillates between humor and serious subject material quite easily as we witness the protagonist wrestle with the decisions that will ultimately define his life for the foreseeable future. Tatum and Dunst do such strong work here and they receive a wonderful helping hand from LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Peter Dinklage, and Ben Mendelsohn. All of this culminates into something worth celebrating as Derek Cianfrance returns with his first directorial effort in nearly ten years. I’m very glad he’s back and I hope his next film comes far sooner than his recent break.
Films with Josh 
