Roofman: LFF Film Review
When I think of Derek Cianfrance, dark and depressing domestic stories come to mind, so the crime comedy-drama Roofman marks a welcome change of pace.
The film tells the true story of former U.S. Army Reserve officer-turned-criminal Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum). After spending four years in prison for robbing a series of McDonald’s chains (among other places), Manchester escapes and seeks refuge inside a Toys “R” Us in Charlotte, North Carolina. Initially thinking it’ll be a short stop, Manchester ends up living inside the toy shop for several months. He eventually gets restless and sloppy and starts venturing outside, where he meets Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) at a nearby church and embarks on a romance.
Roofman tells a wild story that you would not believe is true. Except that it (mostly) is! You can’t make this stuff up! Cianfrance embraces the absurdity of Manchester’s decisions as a fugitive and fills his movie with lots of silly, light-hearted moments. It’s a delight seeing Tatum playing around inside the toy shop and creating his own secret bedroom with baby monitors, Spice Girl posters and Spider-Man bedding.
But Cianfrance doesn’t forget that Manchester – even though he was allegedly very nice and polite during his robberies – is still a criminal who stole a lot of money and deceived a bunch of people. So, although I laugh out loud a bunch, it’s not a full-on comedy. There’s a lot of heart where Leigh and her kids, Lindsay (Lily Collias) and Dee (Kennedy Moyer), are concerned. Manchester tells them that his name is John Zorn and that he works at a secret government facility, and starts a new life out in the open instead of lying low.
Tatum was the ideal choice for Manchester because he’s not afraid to look silly and throw himself into the ridiculous physical comedy, but he can also hit the more meaningful beats. Plus, he has a nice, likeable demeanour. Dunst, who is excellent in basically everything, works well alongside him as a straightforward, no-nonsense single mum. They have solid support from the likes of Peter Dinklage as the unkind Toys “R” Us manager Mitch, LaKeith Stanfield as Manchester’s more savvy criminal friend, and Ben Mendelsohn and Uzo Aduba as the leaders of their church.
Roofman is a good, solid movie. I wasn’t blown away but I can’t really fault it either. What a story!
Showing at the London Film Festival. In cinemas from Friday 17th October