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Roofman Review
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
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Directed By: Derek Cianfrance
Written By: Derek Cianfrance & Kirt Gunn
Runtime: 126 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated R for language, nudity, and brief sexuality.
Channing Tatum – Jeffrey Manchester
Kirsten Dunst – Leigh Wainscott
LaKeith Stanfield – Steve
Peter Dinklage – Mitch
Ben Mendelsohn – Pastor Ron Smith
Uzo Aduba – Eileen
Juno Temple – Michelle
Emory Cohen – Otis
Melonie Diaz – Talena Manchester
Tony Revolori – Duane
Channing Tatum stars in the true-story inspired drama, Roofman, exploring the real-life Jeffrey Manchester, aka the Roofman, who went on a robbing spree, robbing multiple McDonald’s at gunpoint. The new film, from director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance, primarily focuses on one of the more bizarre chapters in Manchester’s life, where he literally hid from the authorities in a well-hidden section of a Toys “R” Us store after escaping from prison in the mid-2000s. Overall, Tatum delivers a stellar performance in Cianfrance’s grounded and poignant character.
Roofman presents Manchester as a down-on-his-luck former Army Reserve officer who cannot keep a job. Manchester has a wife and three young children, but he cannot afford the things he wants to give them in life. He does excel in his observational skills, which served him well in the military, but he struggles to apply them in real life. So, Manchester takes to robbing local McDonald’s restaurants, but in his latest instance, he forces workers into a freezer at gunpoint. Eventually, the authorities catch Manchester, who has been opulently spending his stolen McDonald’s money on his family, and throw the book at him.
While in prison, Manchester’s keen observation and well-honed improvisational skills, developed in the military, enable his relatively quick and easy escape from the penitentiary. Unfortunately, a joyful reunion with his family is likely off the table, as his wife has moved on and wants nothing to do with him, and it’s not safe to return home. As a thief with a lot of experience sneaking and breaking into buildings through the roof, Manchester eventually takes refuge in the ceiling of a local Toys “R” Us.
Finding an area of the store behind the bike racks and well-hidden, Manchester turns the area into an unlikely homestead, living off candy from the store racks. Manchester seeks to hide out for a few months until his former Army buddy and professional identity forger, Steve (Stanfield), can sneak him out of the country.
Unfortunately, Manchester is not content hiding at the toy store for long because he’s a social animal, desperate for a human connection. He forms an inexplicable bond with one of the Toys “R” Us employees, the divorced single mom Leigh Wainscott (Dunst). Leigh becomes quite taken by the charming and gregarious Manchester, who fakes his background and name as “John Zorn,” an intelligence agent for the government, who does not have to discuss work because it’s all classified.
Over the course of several months, Manchester asserts himself into Leigh’s life, helping with her work, her young daughters, and work at the church overseen by the kind and compassionate Pastor Ron Smith (Mendelsohn) and his wife Eileen (Aduba). They form a weird bond and surrogate family, and Manchester almost seems to trick himself into thinking that he’s discovered something genuine. However, it will only be a matter of time before Manchester has to leave his new life behind or gets discovered by the authorities, as he is still a wanted fugitive.
Cianfrance’s direction and script, which he co-wrote with Kirt Gunn, exceptionally capture Manchester’s flaws and virtues. He appears to be a genuinely kind and compassionate individual, but he mistakes material wealth as a sign of love and affection. Manchester believes the way to show his love for his children, or Leigh and her kids, is by buying them gifts, such as toys or cars. Manchester errs because he fails to understand that his presence is more meaningful than gifts.
Despite Manchester’s obvious flaws, Tatum beautifully showcases his character’s humanity. Manchester demonstrates incredible skills and resources with his escape from prison and sheer brilliance in devising a hiding spot in the middle of Toys “R” Us, where no one can find him. However, Manchester fails to cope with that self-imposed isolation for long. Deep down, he yearns to be with and around other people, which is also his ultimate undoing. Tatum shines, showcasing Jeffrey Manchester as a genuine, yet incredibly flawed, human being. Manchester’s true tragedy is that he cannot be alone.
Dunst delivers a fine performance as Manchester’s would-be lover, Leigh. Once the Hollywood superstar and it girl, Dunst shows remarkable maturity and grace in the role, and she’s incredibly believable as a single, divorced mother who becomes quite taken with the handsome and charming Jeffrey Manchester, who poses under the alias of “John Zorn.”
Another refreshing aspect of Cianfrance’s film is the depiction of the modest community Manchester finds in Crossroads Presbyterian Church. Initially, Manchester simply seeks to donate some toys to the church’s charity drive after Leigh’s belligerent bully of a boss, Mitch (Dinklage), rejects her suggestion of donation. Through Leigh’s church, Manchester discovers a bizarre type of salvation and a new community after he loses connection to his family.
It’s rare to see a Christian community or religious figures in a Hollywood movie portrayed in a positive light, not because Christianity and religious figures are infallible institutions devoid of criticism, but usually, such concepts are portrayed negatively in motion pictures. It’s nice to see a religious community portrayed as one of openness, compassion, and inclusion, welcoming in Manchester, despite ignorance of his deceptions. Ben Mendelsohn does not have a gigantic role as the pastor of Leigh’s church, but he blends into the role incredibly well.
There are instances in Roofman where the plot takes some dramatic turns that lack believability, specifically when Manchester is discovered for the first time in the Toys “R” Us. Aspects of Manchester’s real-life story would seemingly have better explained this development, whether true or not, that are not included in Cianfrance’s version. For example, Toys “R” Us was not the only retail store where Manchester remained hidden. However, for the sake of narrative economy, Manchester remains in the toy store, even when it starts becoming less believable.
Another significant development occurs in the final act, where it appears quaint and poignant for the sake of a Hollywood movie, but causes internal debate about whether these moments are authentic to the real-life story or not. Regardless, Roofman delivers a surprisingly bittersweet drama about love and humanity in bizarre circumstances.
