Publication Date: 10-14-2025

Roofman (2025) review

Dir. Derek Cianfrance

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★

Derek Cianfrance is a filmmaker whose style is delightfully nuanced, but not pedestrian. It’s not boisterous, which is why you might need a reminder that he was behind the gripping triptych The Place Beyond the Pines, as well as the textured romance drama The Light Between the Oceans. His films don’t feel as if they’re trying to emulate others, but they sneak up on you in the way they place interpersonal relationships and emotions at the center. In an increasingly connected society in which the populous seems to embrace apathy as a personality trait, Cianfrance dares tell linear stories that sneak up on you with the emotional wallop they pack.

Consider his latest, Roofman. The bright yellow one-sheet and comedic trailer suggest Miramax felt a little challenged when faced with the prospect of conveying the dramatic overtones of this material. Paratext sold this film as something of a crime comedy ala 30 Minutes or Less when much of it is in fact a drama about a man whose unfortunate talent in life is robbery. Sadly, despite the fact that he carries out these duties with intent to help those closest to him, his actions do not endear him in their eyes. In fact, they make him more of a pariah, which leads him to double down on secrecy.

It’s a deceptively complicated idea very thoughtfully illustrated by Cianfrance and co-writer Kirt Gunn. Who else but Channing Tatum to play Jeffrey Manchester, a real-life spree-robber, who robbed several dozen fast food restaurants by breaking in through the roof. This racket served him well throughout the 1990s, until his capture in 2000. He wound up escaping shortly thereafter and sought refuge in a Toys “R” Us store, in which he lived for six months.

Roofman opens by showing Jeff’s life as a petty criminal, trying to provide for his young children and manage a relationship with his ex-wife (Melonie Diaz). Upon his apprehension, he does what he does best in prison, flex his “superpower” that is observation. He takes in everything from human behavior to work patterns and the general motion of life incarcerated until he’s ready to make his escape.

Much of Cianfrance’s film revolves around his life on the run, in which he builds his own secret home inside an elevated nook inside a Toys “R” Us. It’s inside this nook that some of the most exciting developments take place. True to Manchester’s real-life story, Jeff takes it upon himself to rig up small security monitors, position baby monitors so he can hear employees converse, and even goes as far as to obtain passwords to alter employee schedules. Once he disables the recording feature of the CC-TV cameras, he’s free to roam around the store once the lights turn off. He scarfs down Peanut M&M’s at a rate that leads to record cavities, and in time, joins a local church where he gets to know Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), one of the Toys “R” Us employees.

A plethora of quality supporting characters run amok in this story. Peter Dinklage plays Mitch, the Toys “R” Us manager. He’s the type of morose, hardline manager that flat-out ignores your request for the occasional weekend off, and is the first to notice Peanut M&M’s disappear from shelves. Imagine where he would be in life if the corporation for which he worked gave a damn about him the way he cares so deeply for his humble Charlotte store. Dinklage is terrific playing this type, and it’s refreshing to see him play a person who just “is.” There are no jokes levied about his height, nor any mention that he’s a dwarf. This is subtle, yet refreshing. Somebody give Barkhad Abdi‘s phone number to Cianfrance.

Other players include LaKeith Stanfield, who plays Jeff’s Army friend and tries to help him remain undercover; the elusive Juno Temple as Stanfield’s lover; Tony Revolori as a confused and (literally) frozen McDonald’s manager; and Jimmy O. Yang as a used car salesman, in a cameo performance that’s far funnier than it needs to be. All of these performers do more than the usual crop of supporting players. They come equipped with memorable bits of dialog, and instill some wisdom onto our antihero, at times questioning what the hell he’s doing, and at others, taking him at face value and recognizing his charm.

Channing Tatum is excellent here, and if you’re surprised by that, you haven’t been paying attention. Even when Tatum passionately played a heartthrob (Magic Mike), he gave the character depth and rare emotional vulnerability. He does the same here, fully confident in this new, personal era where he’s (a) earned enough money to take chances with roles and (b) relishes smaller-scale movies that allow for development of the individuals he plays. Recently, Tatum was responsible for giving a narcissistic villain an edge in Blink Twice, and made an otherwise generic dog-movie (literally called Dog) feel meaningful as it told the story of two battered, not broken souls.

Roofman disarms the senses in the way it not only placates those who want a story of an unconventional criminal while simultaneously telling a story of someone who grows to genuinely care about a woman who works at the store in which he’s living. Not many could’ve given this narrative credibility, or sidestepped the urge to make it a laugh riot. That’s why there’s Derek Cianfrance, and that’s why his work is worthwhile.

Starring: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage, LaKeith Stanfield, Ben Mendelsohn, Uzo Aduba, Emory Cohen, Melonie Diaz, Tony Revolori, Jimmy O. Yang. Directed by: Derek Cianfrance.