Roofman is based on the outrageous true story of Jeffrey Manchester, a former soldier turned professional criminal who robbed 45 McDonald’s and spent six months in hiding in a Toys “R” Us.
It’s a preposterous set of circumstances, but then again, it’s a preposterous story. However, the movie finds a delicate balance between absurdity and poignancy, and I enjoyed much of this film.
Channing Tatum stars as Manchester, who lives in North Carolina and is not exactly a top-tier dad as he struggles to give his children what they want or need. His situation is exacerbated by his ex-wife (Melonie Diaz), who thinks he’s nothing more than a joke.
Jeffrey is persuaded by his best friend and Army buddy, Steve (LaKeith Stanfield), that he has a way of looking at the world that no one else does, and Jeffrey decides to put those skills to good use —but, of course, he uses them in all the wrong ways. This is where his criminal activities begin by robbing a McDonald’s, but not before he shows politeness to the workers, before locking them in the freezer.
Jeffrey gets caught, escapes again, and then hides out at Toys “R” Us, where he spends the night of his life, but during the day, he can see the security cameras of all the workers. Peter Dinklage plays the gruff manager.
Eventually, Jeffrey crosses paths with one of the employees named Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a single mom who gets enamored with Jeffrey, and they start a relationship. He’s also welcomed by her two daughters. Jeffrey is overgenerous, donating toys to his church’s toy drive, but he also steals video games to pay for his essentials.
Roofman is a story that could’ve been exploited as one where, since we already know what happens to Manchester, there’s no surprise, and you’d be right on that level. However, the film doesn’t try to make Jeffrey a hero so much as it tries to make him a man who wants to escape his lifestyle, but he does so by committing bad acts. It’s a fascinating contradiction.
Tatum plays Manchester with a lot of intelligence, charm, and skill, and we wonder how he’s able to stay one step ahead or even take care of himself if the jig can be up at any given point. This is one of Tatum’s more mature performances, and I’d like to see him tackle more interesting material.
The movie has a fair amount of funny moments and some scenes of real interest, but some scenes go on a little longer than they need to, and at 126 minutes, Manchester’s story seems like a bit of a stretch.
However, that’s a minor quibble in a movie that is actually one of the year’s most pleasant surprises. Roofman does its job successfully.
