Roofman

Plot

Jeff Manchester is former military, who will do ‘anything’ for his daughter… and by anything be a notorious robber of McDonalds restaurants – who always comes through the roof, giving him the nickname Roofman.

His latest robbery, in which he is found out, sees him sent to jail for 45 years. He quickly escapes jail, and to avoid capture – sets up shop in a local Toys R Us.

As the weeks and months drag on, his boredom gets to him, and on his many adventures – he befriends Leigh – one of the employees at the store, and strikes up a relationship with her under the pseudonym John Zorin.

But what will happen when and if Leigh discovers who he really is?

Direction

Derek Cianfrance directs, who has done other dramatic films such as The Place Beyond the Pines, and Blue Valentine.

Cast/Characters

Channing Tatum gives arguably one of his best performances as Jeff/John.

Kirsten Dunst plays Leigh, who carries the film. Her performance is brilliant, and she is by far one of the best child to adult actors in the business. Her heartbreak when she discovers the truth, is awards worthy (but not recognised )

Peter Dinklage plays Miles, Leigh’s boss, however he feels somewhat wasted, and underused.

Other cast who appear throughout are LaKeith Stanfield (as Jeff’s friend), Juno Temple (as Steve’s girlfriend), Ben Mendelsohn (as the pastor at Leigh’s church) and Uzo Aduba as his wife.

Breakdown

I went in to this having watched the trailer and was surprised how different it was to what it was advertised. I thought it was going to be a comedy, but it was far from.

Based on a true story, in 2004 – Jeff is a former military – who is ultra intelligent and observant… but instead of using his skills for good, he has been robbing McDonalds in the area, always going through the roof – being dubbed “Roofman” by the media. After his latest robbery, where he locked three people in a freezer (making sure they all had jackets on first), he is caught and sent to 45 years in jail.

He quickly (too quickly – it happens almost within the first 20 minutes of screen-time – this could have been extended slightly) escapes from prison, and then decides to hide out in a local Toys R Us (lucky that this was a real story, because how lucky was it that he hid out in a now defunct business).

Jeff  is a mixed bag of a character, he is a genuinely nice person – but he is continually doing the wrong thing. Even throughout the film, when he is on the run, he plans on leaving America – and wants to rob the Toys R Us for $50k – and severely beats up a guard during the robbery (which adds a further 30+ years to his jail sentence when he is eventually caught. Even though this happens, your feelings about him are conflicted, and this is due to Tatum’s impressive performance. This could quit possibly be his best performance to date.

I also found his attachment to Leigh and her daughters odd. He becomes an almost ‘father’ figure to them at times, but he all but abandons his own daughter just because his ex wife told him too? Would that really stop him. That being said, the on screen chemistry between them is off the charts.

The supporting cast (Dinklage, Stansfield, Temple, Mendelsohn and Aduba) are all completely underused as well, despite all their immense talent.

I loved the prologue of real life interviews of people who know the real Jeff (including the real Leigh etc)

Overall

While it was advertised as a comedy, this is far away from being a laugh a minute romp. It is more about life, relationships with some absolutely brilliant performances from Tatum and Dunst.

A strong recommend (even though I’ve mentioned some downs) and please check out my podcast where we discuss this one.

4/5

Please check out my Podcast on this movie