Roofman – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 6 minutes, Director – Derek Cianfrance

Escaping from prison after a string of robberies, Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) hides out in the roof of a Toys R Us, eventually forming a relationship with one of the employees (Kirsten Dunst) whilst trying to remain undetected.

Roofman has found itself pulled in multiple directions as to what it is even before its release. While largely advertised as a comedy caper while early pre-review conversation suggested it as an outside Oscar contender, and eventual reviews suggesting that it has Oscar-bait edges with a release that shows a lack of faith in its chances – the actual film is a rather likable comedy-drama.

One that acknowledges the humour a man hiding out in the roof of a Toys R Us, having escaped from prison after a string of McDonalds robberies, while capturing the implications of entering into a relationship with one of the employees whilst trying to remain uncaptured before fleeing the country. Having left the military and not found a new line of work, Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) finds money by using his observation skills to commit a string of robberies. It’s these skills that allow him to stay hidden in the toy megastore for multiple months, however after getting bored and deciding to donate to a church toy drive he overhears about he gets to know single-mother Leigh (Kirsten Dunst).

While trying to do good, and coming across as a kind person, albeit one whose relationships are led by what he buys for others, the idea that at any moment he may be caught or have to run lingers in the background of Jeffrey’s interactions. It’s around the moral side of things, and the angles of Jeffrey’s relationships, where much of the light drama forms and grows. Yes, there may be laughs as he uses the products in the Toys R Us to keep his mind amused, but as he starts to step out into the outside world that’s where the narrative and film as a whole begin to grow. All coming together in the final stages where his in-two-minds state truly clashes as he’s caught between two lives, and possibly identities.

There’s a very starry cast around Tatum and Dunst, including LaKeith Stanfield, Peter Dinklage, Juno Temple and Ben Medelsohn – the latter two very briefly – and each put in good turns which capture the lighter tones of the narrative at hand. Although, while with such a starry cast Roofman doesn’t come across as an ensemble film and is certainly led by Tatum with enough likability and charisma to avoid making Jeffrey an utterly unlikable and unforgivable character for the risks he takes and creates for other people. His style leaks into the narrative and brings in the engagement factor and overall draw of the film which successfully strikes a crowd-pleasing sweet-spot with its balance of caper and moral drama, which appears to have been its intention from the start.

A likable blend of comedy caper and light moral drama, Roofman is successfully led and rested on Channing Tatum’s central performance, stopping things from being purely unlikable in the humorous and engaging course of the film and its growing dramatic sides.