Director Derek Cianfrance’s Roofman is two movies in one: the true-life story of a colorful criminal with an unusual story and unique skills, and a slow-motion heartbreak, in which that criminal becomes a part of a new family unit, which we know will end in tears. The film can’t reconcile its two halves, between a crowd-pleasing caper film and a sad drama about devastating heartbreak.
Roofman is based on the true story of Jeffrey Manchester (played by Channing Tatum), a military veteran who, in the late-1990s, began carrying out armed robberies of McDonald’s locations by sneaking in through the roof. Sentenced to decades in prison, he broke out, traveled to Charlotte, and hid out in a makeshift apartment in a Toys “R” Us, sneaking down at night to steal food and merchandise that he could sell. (In real life, he lived in a vacant Circuit City, which was next to the Toys “R” Us.)
The bulk of the movie has Jeffrey, under the name John, romancing a newly-divorced single mom named Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) who works at the Toys “R” Us, charming her young daughters, and undermining her priggish boss (Peter Dinklage). We’re to assume that Leigh doesn’t ask too many questions about why her new beau doesn’t have a car, never brings her to his home, and his name doesn’t come up on Google. For essentially its entire second half, we see his sweet romance unfold and this new family develop, knowing that it can’t last. As on-screen heartbreaks go, it’s not up there with the director’s Blue Valentine, but then few movies are, and it’s still pretty devastating.
Tatum, after a few years of mostly appearing in turkeys, delivers his best performance in some time, portraying a believable character with all its different sides. But it’s Kirsten Dunst who walks away with the film, as a woman hurt in the past who we know is about to be hurt again. The actress, who began her career as a child performer, is now in her early-40s and has been done great work at this stage of her career, first in her Oscar-nominated turn in The Power of the Dog, and now with Roofman. Right behind her is Lily Collias, from last year’s outstanding indie film Good One, as Dunst’s oldest daughter.
Roofman is Cianfrance’s first feature as director in nine years, since 2016’s forgettable literary adaptation The Light Between Oceans, although he did get an Oscar nomination for co-writing 2020’s The Sound of Metal. Roofman comes in behind Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines.
There’s a movie from 2009, called I Love You, Phillip Morris, which starred Jim Carrey as another real-life criminal, Steven Jay Russell, who proved adept at breaking out of prison. That movie also combined the escapes with a romance plot, culminating in a twist that has Steven faking dying of AIDS to break out one more time. Roofman could’ve used more of that over-the-top spirit.