The trailers for this one confused me – is this the same Derek Cianfrance who directed The Place Beyond the Pines? A wacky “based on a true story” caper starring Channing Tatum as the titular Roofman? Mercifully, the promo is once again emphasizing the wrong things. Roofman is a moving, heartbreaking film about a man up to his ears in bad decisionmaking, driven by love and freedom. In other words, yes, this is a Cianfrance joint.

Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) is a down-on-his-luck veteran who has turned to robbing McDonald’s to provide for his family. Everyone he robs comments on his kindness and good manners; they’re barely even upset that he takes all their money. After robbing more than 40 McDonald’s, Jeff is finally caught and imprisoned. But prison can’t hold this guy, and he soon escapes, eventually holing up in a Toys “R” Us. This is all real, yet another true story where some details have to be toned down due to their absurdity. When he was eventually caught, they lifted his fingerprints off a DVD of Catch Me If You Can. Can you believe that?

But the crimes and espionage are not the film’s juice, as fun as they are. The real meat of Roofman is the relationship between Jeff and Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a well-meaning Toys “R” Us employee with two daughters. Jeff finds Leigh quite charming when watching her on his secret cameras, and eventually goes to her church and gives her a fake name. This all sounds creepy written out, and it’s certainly less than ethical, but Tatum is so genuine and romantic that you forget alongside the characters, only for reality to shatter everything when you least expect it.

While Channing and Kiki are the stars, the rest of the cast is full of heavy hitters, including Peter Dinklage, LaKeith Stanfield, Emory Cohen, Uzo Aduba, and the god Ben Mendelsohn as a long haired preacher with golden pipes. Cianfrance builds a world inside and out of this Toys “R” Us, with as much attention to detail of period-accurate toys as the emotional journey of Jeff and Leigh. Just settling into this crime saga is a joy, even when sadness and grief hit like a truck.

Roofman is silly, but not the comedy they’re advertising it as. This is a classic studio programmer, a film for adults that we’ve been craving. I was skeptical but was absolutely won over by Tatum and Dunst’s performances. There’s nothing two of cinema’s best criers cannot do when they’re together.

Roofman
2025
Dir. Derek Cianfrance
126 min

Now playing @ Kendall Square Cinema, Capitol Theatre, Apple Cinemas Cambridge, Alamo Drafthouse Boston Seaport, and all local AMCs