[8]
In this true story from director Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines, Blue Valentine), Channing Tatum stars as Jeffrey Manchester, an Army veteran and struggling father sent to prison for robbing several McDonald’s restaurants by digging through the roofs. He eventually escaped prison and took up residency inside a Toys ‘r’ Us store for several months without anyone ever knowing he was there. He tapped into the store’s security cameras, and had nothing better to do than get interested in the lives of the employees — including a single mother named Leigh, played by Kirsten Dunst.
Sneaking in and out of the store at night, Jeffrey spends time with Leigh and starts to create a new life with her and her two daughters. He keeps his identity a secret while waiting for an old military friend (LaKeith Stanfield) to help him get to Mexico. But just as the Mexico plan comes together, the past threatens to catch up with Jeffrey. It also becomes increasingly painful to leave Leigh and her kids behind.
Roofman is marketed as a comedy, but it’s really more of a drama. Tatum and Cianfrance portray Jeffrey as a non-violent man desperate to provide for his family by any means necessary. A prison phone call scene in which his young daughter explains that she and her mother need to ‘move on’ from him is heartbreaking. Tatum starts to represent all men who who make poor decisions trying to fulfill the role of family provider — men that society ultimately shun and forget about.
This is probably the best acting Channing Tatum has done so far. While he keeps things light in front of other characters, Cianfrance gives him just enough private moments where the façade breaks and the tears fall. He has terrific chemistry with Kirsten Dunst, who delivers an award-worthy performance as Leigh. Dunst is so natural and believable, her scenes make the film feel like a documentary at times. Between her acting here and in Civil War and The Power of the Dog, she’s fast-becoming one of the best actors of her generation. The supporting cast is full of other solid actors who make the most of their limited screen time, including Juno Temple, Ben Mendelsohn, and Peter Dinklage.
Roofman is a surprisingly engrossing character study and a genuine, ill-fated romance featuring two great performances. It’s a film that asks us to reconsider the lives of the men we lock away, to think about what motivates their crimes, and to remember that not all of them are monsters. Some of them are good people who, in desperation, simply made bad decisions.