A charismatic criminal, while on the run from the police, hides on the roof of a toy store. There, he adopts a new identity and becomes involved with an employee, beginning a relationship as unlikely as it is risky.
Chuck says:
Between 1940 – 1944, writer-director Preston Sturges produced a string of classics that were, and remain, an unprecedented success among Hollywood filmmakers. “The Lady Eve,” “Sullivan’s Travels,” and “Hail the Conquering Hero” were among the movies made during this period, each of them featuring a plot conceit the director returned to repeatedly. His protagonists were often forced or decide to masquerade as someone else, and in doing so, discover the person they were meant to be or come to terms with their own failings as a result.
I bring all this up because I was struck by the similarities of Sturges’ work on Derek Cianfrance’s delightful “Roofman,” a fact-based dramedy that inadvertently draws from the same narrative well of the classic filmmaker. Purported to be “based on actual events and terrible decisions,” the movie’s tone seems taken from the 1940’s as well, the mood never too serious, one in which this stranger-than-fiction story plays out as a bit of a lark, though it ultimately has real-world consequences.
Channing Tatum takes on the titular role, that of Jeffrey Manchester, a directionless Army veteran who finds a unique way to provide for his family. Gifted with the ability to make connections from the most minute details, he notices that each McDonald’s restaurant is constructed in the same way, and they all contain the same design flaw. A vulnerable spot in the roof of each of these buildings allows him to cut through it and drop in, which allows him to wait for said restaurant’s manager to show up in the morning and allow him access to the contents in his safe. He manages to pull this off 45 times before he’s caught.
Sentenced to a 45-year sentence, Manchester’s desire to be reunited with his family gets the best of him and eventually he breaks out. On the run, he uses his breaking and entering skills to seek refuge in a Toys ‘R Us store. This ends up being a fortuitous choice as it contains multiple places he can hide and, once he determines how to turn off the security cameras, he has the run of the place at night.
Six weeks pass, boredom sets in, and Manchester gets the bright idea of setting up baby monitors and small cameras around the store, so that he can eavesdrop on all that occurs. In doing so, he comes to admire the tenacity of recently divorced, single mom Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst), observe the bullying tactics of the store manager, Mitch (Peter Dinklage) and begins to hatch a plan to reenter daily life.
It’s an absolutely absurd premise, yet further research and archival footage played during the end credits concerning Manchester’s exploits confirm that most of what we witness is true. The script by Kirt Gunn and Cianfrance grounds this outlandish story by rendering Manchester, Wainscott and the rest as vulnerable people striving to succeed in an uncertain world. Though each puts their best foot forward, their inner flaws prevent them from acting in their own best interests. As a result, we can’t help but relate to them, coming to care for them even though they continue to stand in their own way. This makes the inevitable unhappy ending all the more difficult to take.
Tatum is out of his comfort zone here and rises to the challenge. While he’s played well-meaning lunkheads before, he approaches Manchester differently, utilizing a sense of stillness that leads to a more introspective performance. It isn’t an effortless turn – there are times when you can see him straining to stay rooted in one spot – yet this works to his advantage as well, conveying a restlessness and vulnerability to his character. And while I never would have guessed pairing him with Dunst would work, there’s a surprising spark between them, their interactions playful and genuine.
While Manchester may have been acting with the best of intentions, it’s his self-destructive tendencies that ultimately do him in. Only by assuming another identity does he come to realize his behavior is damaging others and what needs to be done to stop this. In the end, despite “Roofman’s” at times whimsical approach, the tragic nature of Manchester story shines through, the irony being that he never applied his ability to notice small details to himself.
3 1/2 Stars
