Roofman
“Roofman” speaks to the societal pressure put on men to be providers. To grind as hard as we can so that our families are taken care of. No, I’m not saying men- especially white men- have it as bad as women or minorities in society, but the patriarchal bent of society is slammed into us from an early age, and it can really mess up our perspective if we don’t feel like we can keep up with everything on our own, whether we recognize the ways in which society has made it harder for us to keep up or not. This is not to say that Jeffrey Manchester has only society to blame for his landing in prison not once but twice in this film, but Derek Cianfrance’s film does offer him some empathy because what he did- at least in the outset- was at the service of this societal pressure.
The more that Channing Tatum has been allowed to control his own on-screen image of himself- whether that means the “Magic Mike” movies or being taken a chance on in a film like “Foxcatcher” or “The Hateful Eight”- the more his personality has blossomed on screen. Not just the hunky romantic lead or action hero, he’s come more into his own, whether it’s the “Jump Street” films or a brief scene-stealer in “Hail, Caeser!” or “The Lost City” or “Fly Me to the Moon.” He is a fully formed actor now, and “Roofman” gives him a great vehicle.
At the beginning of the film, Manchester has been out of the military for a little bit, and is struggling to be a father who provides for his children, and doesn’t disappoint his ex-wife. So, he starts knocking over McDonald’s. He breaks in from the roof, and waits for the opening manager to arrive, and gets them to open the safe before putting them- and any other employees- into the walk-in freezer. This has happened 40+ times, and things are going well. And then, he makes a noble mistake, and gets caught, and sentenced to 45 years. He’s a good observer, and that leads him to be able to break out of prison. On the run, he goes into a nearby Toys R’ Us, and manages to find a way to stay there for months on end. Eventually, he finds reason to leave the store, and comes into contact with one of the employees, Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), and they begin a relationship. The worst thing someone can do, however, while on the run is stay in one place for too long, let along making connections.
If you watch the trailers, and look at the poster, for “Roofman,” you wouldn’t be faulted for thinking it has more of a comedic bent. But if you’ve seen some of Cianfrance’s other films- including “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond the Pines”- you know that light comedy is not really in his wheelhouse as a filmmaker. Predictably, the director- who wrote the screenplay with Kirt Gunn- gets terrific performances out of Tatum, Dunst, and the rest of his cast (including Peter Dinklage as the store’s stern boss, LaKeith Stanfield as another former vet who’s had to supplement his income on the wrong side of the law, and Ben Mendelsohn- in a hilariously bad wig- as a pastor at Leigh’s church), but he also feels more comfortable when the film gets serious. He does a great job with the romance, and charting the struggles Jeff finds himself in morally, but the film feels like it wants to be a bit wackier than it is. “Roofman” still delivers from a perspective of acting and character, however, and that is enough for this to be a success.
