Roofman
Roofman
Starring Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Ben Mendelsohn, Peter Dinklage
Directed by Derek Cianfrance
In 2004, Jeffrey Mancester (Channing Tatum), a former US Army Reserve officer, has turned to crime to be able to buy things for his young daughter, but he does so in a charming way. He breaks into fast food restaurants through the roof and holds the workers at gunpoint, but does so in a way that endears him to his captives (even offering his coat to one after he forces them into the freezer, to which the employee said he forgot his coat). Eventually, Jeffrey is captured and sentenced to over forty years in prison, but uses his ability to be completely observant of his situation to escape.
Knowing the police will be hunting him for awhile, Manchester takes refuge in a Toys-R-Us store by staying in a hidden hollow structure in the store, and comes out at night once everyone leaves to find food and enjoy himself. This goes on for months, and the missing food comes to the attention of the gruff, mean manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage), who doesn't understand why things have gone missing. He continually berates his employees, especially Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a young single mother who needs certain weekends off. Manchester falls for her and after a few months he decides that the search has gone cold so he emerges and starts a relationship with her under the name of John Zorn and instantly becomes the father figure to Leigh's children that they need, and becomes a pillar for the community at large. But his desire to reunite with his daughter could threaten his newfound freedom, mixed with his new desire to be in Leigh and her children's lives.
"Roofman" is one of those charming movies that are tailor-made for the likes of Channing Tatum, who's effortless charm and charisma can be told just with an expression that's as effortless as making no-bake cookies. He makes any character relatable and enjoyable, even when they're a criminal who's committed several terrifying crimes, no matter how nice he was. Jeffrey Manchester - the real criminal - has a lot in common with Tatum's portrayal, as he did what he did to make his family's lives better and also did so in a way that his victims saw him as a "nice guy," but nice guys don't do what Manchester did under any circumstance, especially when he wasn't putting food on the table, but getting his daughter a bike she's always wanted.
Manchester's crimes are almost overlooked in the grand scheme of the story, as the main thrust is how he survived for months in hiding at a Toys-R-Us store without anyone knowing he was there. He took refuge in a hollowed-out area behind the bikes and set up a decent home for himself equipped with a sleeping bag, numerous televisions, food, and decorum from the store that made it look like a person's first apartment. He managed to sneak out at night and work with the cameras to turn them off so he could roam the store freely, and this is the charm of the movie - seeing him bike riding through the store, carrying life-sized teddy bears, and otherwise acting like...well...a kid in a toy store.
Then the love interest takes center stage, and the story diminishes in its excitement. Kirsten Dunst does fine, but you don't feel any chemistry between the two of them, as almost immediately they're in bed together without knowing a lot about one another and - in a movie that runs 126 minutes - feels completely underdeveloped. They could've shaved twenty minutes from the movie and it would've worked better, but as it is, the strange tonal shift between Manchester's life on the run and his immediate fatherhood potential seem like a whiplash moment.
Each character outside Manchester is a typecast of their role. The caring pastor and his loving wife. The douchebag store manager. The bulled employee who can never stand up for himself. The single mother wanting to do right by her children. Each role is paper thin and forgettable, and if it weren't for Tatum's performance, Manchester himself would've faded into the same obscurity.
The Score: A-
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