‘Roofman’ review: Channing Tatum charms in real-life crime caper from Derek Cianfrance

Dir: Derek Cianfrance. US. 126mins

Telling the true story of a prolific thief who escaped from prison and went into hiding, only to fall in love with a single mother who had no idea about his true identity, Roofman sidesteps this tale’s most potentially fascinating elements to sell a more conventional narrative. Channing Tatum gives a vulnerable performance as Jeffrey Manchester, a kindly criminal obsessed with providing for those he loves even if it’s by unlawful means. His rapport with co-star Kirsten Dunst is often quite lovely, but Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance doesn’t apply his usual penetrating eye to this peculiar crook.

Lacks the inquisitiveness and candour of Cianfrance’s earlier work

After its Toronto premiere and London berth, Roofman opens October 10 in the US and October 17 in the UK. Tatum’s likeable turn should charm his fans, and the film’s crowd-pleasing vibe might help it connect with mainstream audiences. That said, Cianfrance’s offbeat crime-dramedy may be only a modest theatrical prospect, with better returns possibly coming through streaming.

In 2004, Jeffrey (Tatum) gets sentenced to 45 years for a string of robberies he executed utilising the same unusual technique: he would break into fast-food restaurants by entering through the roof late at night, wait for the employees to arrive and rob the place. Devastated about being locked up and not able to see his children, he breaks out of prison, barricading himself inside the walls of a Toys ‘R’ Us store so that no one can find him. He plans to lay low for about six months until the cops and the press have moved on, but then he meets Leigh (Dunst), a religious, divorced mother, and introduces himself under the fake name of John Zorn.

Cianfrance’s previous features Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond The Pines examined marginalised individuals from a stark but not unsympathetic perspective. Roofman represents something of a break from that grittier approach, although here too the director is attuned to how working-class people struggle to find contentment amidst the pressures of mounting bills. In this regard, Jeffrey is a gentler, less tormented version of the typical Cianfrance protagonist. A military veteran who stumbled into crime mostly because he couldn’t think of a better way to take care of his kids, Tatum’s divorced father of three is a sweet individual who never wants anyone to get hurt during his burglaries. He may be a thief, but he’s not malicious — mostly, he’s just rudderless.

In the Magic Mike and 21 Jump Street franchises, Tatum has excelled at portraying sympathetic everyday lunks. This change-of-pace dramatic role leaves room for comedic set pieces, but the actor plays Jeffrey as an appealing screwup who has endless love for his children and then, eventually, Leigh and her kids. But there’s something missing behind the character’s affable smile, suggesting a man who’s never found his place in the world. (Even Jeffrey’s voiceover narration comes across as noticeably noncommittal, almost as if he’s a passive observer to the key moments in his life.) Tatum zeroes in on the man’s inarticulated sadness to touching effect.

When Leigh enters the picture, Roofman turns from a character study into a tentative love story as Jeffrey discovers, to his shock, how easy it is to become “John,” who Jeffrey decides has a top-secret job with government intelligence. Jeffrey and Leigh’s relationship bears all the hallmarks of people who have been burned by romance before, and the two leads convey a natural, grown-up chemistry.

But what ultimately hinders the film is Cianfrance and Tatum’s wobbly conception of Jeffrey. Roofman has faint notions about how this thief represents larger ideas about loneliness, capitalism and consumerism, but those themes are pushed aside in order to emphasise a blandly affectionate attitude toward Jeffrey. Cianfrance has often prized raw emotion but, while cinematographer Andrij Parekh’s intimate lensing maintains the director’s preference for up-close drama, Roofman lacks the inquisitiveness and candour of his earlier work. The film tries so hard to paint Jeffrey as an endearingly flawed curiosity that he lacks the rough edges or mystery that would make such a person compelling.