If you asked me fifteen years ago if I thought Channing Tatum would still be making movies into the next decade, the answer would’ve been “no.” Keep in mind that Tatum’s most high-profile roles up to that point were Step Up and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. With his subsequent films, Tatum proved to have real range as a comedic performer (21 Jump Street), dramatic actor (Foxcatcher), and someone who should’ve gotten their own X-Men movie (Deadpool & Wolverine). You can’t always judge a book by its cover. How fitting that Tatum would give one of his best performances in Roofman, a film that isn’t entirely what it seems.
It tells the true story of Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum), a retired soldier who wants to provide his children with nice things. While Manchester has a head on his shoulders, he chooses to put his mind toward crime. He makes a living robbing McDonald’s restaurants by entering through the roof, earning the nickname “the Roofman.” The authorities eventually catch up to Manchester, and the judge throws the book at him. Although he’s sentenced to 45 years, it isn’t long until Manchester flies the coop, crashing in a Toys “R” Us while he strategizes his next move.
Manchester’s hijinks sound absurd, giving the impression that Roofman will be a goofy comedy. Roofmancan be quite funny, especially in a scene where Manchester gets caught with his pants down. Peter Dinklage also scores a few laughs as the toy store’s “all work, no play” manager. Yet, Roofman is also a surprisingly thoughtful film about a man who does the wrong things, not always for the right reasons. This direction might catch some off guard, but it makes sense knowing Roofman is from Derek Cianfrance, who previously made Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines. While not nearly as bleak as those films, Cianfrance specializes in stories about flawed people trying their best to get by, but they can’t seem to do right.
Also like Cianfrance’s other films, Roofman incorporates a romance that we know can’t end well. We’re so charmed, though, that we trick ourselves into believing it might. Manchester takes a liking to Kirsten Dunst’s Leigh Wainscott, an employee at Toys “R” Us. He soon finds himself going to Leigh’s church and meeting his daughters. Manchester tells her that he lives in a secret location due to his government job. In reality, he’s crashing on a mattress in the store with a Spider-Man doll, watching the employees through nanny cams. It sounds unhinged, and while Roofman makes us empathize with Manchester, it doesn’t try to justify everything he did.
One could argue that Manchester was nice to the people he robbed, and his offenses weren’t the worst. On the other hand, someone who commits armed robbery can’t be that nice, and his crimes were still crimes. His sentencing may’ve been too harsh, especially considering how society kicked him to the curb after he served his country. That still doesn’t necessarily excuse the felonies he committed or the broken hearts he left along the way. By the film’s conclusion, though, you can’t help but want to see Manchester go free.
Roofman also features supporting roles from Ben Mendelsohn as a minister, Uzo Aduba as his wife, LaKeith Stanfield as Manchester’s old army buddy, and Juno Temple as his girlfriend. They feel underutilized in a film that mainly belongs to Tatum and Dunst. That said, their chemistry is more than enough to give Roofman a beating heart. Tatum, in particular, carries the film with a nuanced performance as a criminal who keeps telling himself that there’s a good guy underneath. He’s making excuses for himself, but if we were on the jury, we might excuse him too.