ROOFMAN is a heart-melting dramedy showcasing Tatum and Dunsts' talent

“Who do you want to be, Jeff?”

This past weekend saw the release of Paramount’s ROOFMAN, a melancholic caper that is as sweet and heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. 

The film, based on an absurd true story, is set in 2004 and follows military veteran Jeffrey Manchester (a remarkable Channing Tatum) who, after a series of heists on local North Carolina McDonalds restaurants, gets incarcerated and subsequently escapes prison. 

On the run, Manchester gets in touch with his Army buddy Steve (a cool and hilarious LaKeith Stanfield) who specializes in fake IDs. Steve tells Jeff he needs to lay low until he can come up with a full suite of counterfeits to smuggle Jeff out of the country for good. 

Out of options, Jeff hides out in a suburban Toys R Us retail store where a single mom employee, Leigh (an incredible Kirsten Dunst) is constantly berated by the vindictive manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage). 

Jeff makes the bustling Toys R Us his home for three months, and in that time finds himself drawn to Leigh, putting himself at risk by becoming close with her, her daughters, and getting involved in her church all while law enforcement closes in on him as he waits to make his escape to South America. 

Directed by Derek Cianfrance, ROOFMAN is one of the most sincere and sweet films released in recent memory, playing to Cianfrance’s strengths from such films as PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, and BLUE VALENTINE where he executes beautifully doomed love stories by letting his actors achieve Herculean feats with their talents on screen. 

Shot on 35mm by cinematographer Andrij Parekh who shot the “Smallfolk” episode of HBO’s “House of the Dragon”- one of the series’ crown jewels- ROOFMAN has a texture to it which fits right at home with its melancholic early-2000s setting and comfy aesthetic of a rain-soaked North Carolina across Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. 

The setting alone is enough to tug on nostalgic heart strings, seeing a faithfully recreated Toys R Us from the chain’s heyday (built entirely from scratch by the movie’s excellent prop and art department) along with glimpses of turn-of-the-century McDonalds, Red Lobster, and shots of a local Blockbuster Video. 

But it’s not just the locations or the warm and fuzzy memories of the time period that allow ROOFMAN to bury into your heart- it’s Tatum and Dunst, two remarkable talents that go above and beyond here. 

Tatum, who built a career off teen heart-throb roles before trying his hand at more serious drama then taking turns as being an “in-on-the-joke” comedic talent, has settled into a sweet spot in recent years of being one of the most effortlessly charming leading men that Hollywood has to offer, with a built-in sympathy that allows him to portray an everyman with 0 effort. It’s the same talent here that we saw in Tatum’s excellent 2017 dramedy LOGAN LUCKY, but more refined from years of age and experience at his craft. 

Dunst is no stranger to emotionally-charged romantic roles ranging from comic book heartthrob in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies to director Cameron Crowe’s ethereal muse in the saccharine ELIZABETHTOWN (one of my favorites). It’s here that Dunst marries her rom-com sensibilities to her dramatic chops, such as what she displayed in last year’s Alex Garland thriller CIVIL WAR. 

The two leads, spending the entire movie falling in love and working past their own personal struggles, crescendo with a heartbreaking and truly tearjerking scene at the film’s end when their characters embrace one last time in a moment that, in a perfect world, would secure both actors with an award or two.  

ROOFMAN is as funny as it is sentimental, and no one can say that it is anything but genuine. If there is anything to compare it to, my highest possible praise is that, all things considered, it reminds me of one of my most beloved films of all time, 2009’s Jason Reitman dramedy UP IN THE AIR. 

ROOFMAN’s greatest strength, owing to director Cianfrance, is that the film doesn’t try to necessarily justify or judge its characters like a lesser director might. 

ROOFMAN is funny, sentimental, and deeply genuine. It doesn’t excuse its characters’ flaws, nor does it judge them. Leigh’s steadfast faith and single-mother strength are portrayed with grace, while Jeff’s criminal past is acknowledged without moralizing.

The result is a film full of heart, honesty, and quiet hope. It’s easily among the most earnest movies of the year—and one that deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Of course, we’ve got a lot of year left to go with WICKED FOR GOOD and MARTY SUPREME…