Channing Tatum shines as a charming thief who breaks into McDonald’s—and maybe your heart
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
Writer-director Derek Cianfrance, known for “Blue Valentine” (2010) and “The Place Beyond the Pines” (2012), returns with “Roofman,” a genuine change of pace from his heartfelt, doomed romances, sort of.
The new film tells the fact-based tale of a criminal mastermind (again, sort of), Jeffrey Manchester, an Army Reserve veteran whose specialty in the late ’90s was breaking into McDonald’s restaurants through the roof at night and waiting until the workers showed up in the mornings to rob the store’s safe of cash. He was notorious for requiring workers to put on coats before locking them in the fridge.
The film is a tour de force turn by leading man Channing Tatum, who could become a viable contender for year-end awards. Sorry, Dwayne Johnson. Channing’s Jeff Manchester is part thief, part devoted dad, part clown, part lover, part fool. He cannot stop himself from dancing to a good beat. He greets his victims with a genuine “good morning,” even though he is pointing a loaded rifle at them. Jeff wears a mask and sometimes a pink boa.
He jauntily narrates parts of the film. His best friend Steve (LaKeith Stanfield) is a fellow Army Reserve veteran who believes that Jeff has a superpower connected to his ability to see things that others do not, such as how to rob the over 13,000 similarly built McDonald’s in the country. Steve makes the observation that Jeff is “half genius” and “half idiot,” which seems right on the, uh, money. Steve’s girlfriend Michelle (Juno Temple) thinks that Jeff is a bad influence. She’s right. Jeff has predicted that in order to buy a house, he will have to pull off 45 robberies.
But before he reaches that number, he is arrested and sentenced to 45 years in prison. His ex-wife (Melanie Diaz) informs him that she has decided to “cut the cord.” She does not want him to phone his young daughter (Alissa Marie Pearson) anymore. In prison, Jeff is a model incarcerated man. He’s given access to tools and machinery and helps load trucks that come into and out of the prison, delivering goods. The guards inspect the bottoms of outgoing trucks using mirrors. Jeff finds a tricky way to hide under a truck and escape. As the cops appear to be closing in on him, Jeff enters a Toys R Us store and finds a place to hide. He finds a more permanent hiding place inside after the store closes.
Tatum, the Mike from the “Magic Mike” films, is a bit difficult to pin down as an actor. He has played so many men who do not take themselves seriously that it has invited us to do the same thing to him. But he stretched convincingly in “Foxcatcher” (2014) and the under-appreciated Roman Empire-set action film “The Eagle” (2011). In “Roofman,” Tatum finds a perfect role. Jeff Manchester is resourceful, disciplined, funny, and, despite making terrible choices, a loving father; he can also dance.
From his hiding place, where he lives off peanut M&Ms and communes with multiple mechanical Elmo dolls, Jeff figures out how to keep the cameras from recording without turning them off. He “owns the night” in the store and can go anywhere he likes. He figures out a way to spy on the workers using baby monitors and to get in and out of the store undetected. Without meeting him, he has a battle of the wills with the store’s mean and petty manager, Mitch (Peter Dinklage). Jeff even develops a crush on a worker named Leigh Wainscott (a delightful Kirsten Dunst). Jeff collects a bag full of returned toys and delivers them on a bicycle to Leigh’s church, where she sings in the choir while her two daughters Dee (Kennedy Moyer) and Lindsay (Lily Collias) watch and listen.
At this point, “Roofman” becomes a surprisingly moving mismatched romance: the lovable escaped criminal and the religious single mother. Jeff enchants Leigh’s fellow churchgoers, posing as a government undercover worker. Meanwhile, Mitch cannot figure out what happened to a large amount of M&Ms, and led by a dogged Inspector Javert-like Sergeant (Molly Price), the police are moving in.
Some of “Roofman,” which director Cianfrance co-wrote with Kirt Gunn, doesn’t add up. Jeff’s fake identity doesn’t seem very believable. But we go with it because Tatum and Dunst are so charming together, and he is terrific with the young women playing Leigh’s daughters. A delightfully offbeat romantic comedy set in a not-so-long-ago past, “Roofman” is a welcome escape from our blues.
‘Roofman’
Rating: R for language, nudity and brief sexuality.
Cast: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Writers: Cianfrance, Kirt Gunn
Running time: 2 hours, 6 minutes
Where to watch: In theaters
Grade: A-
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